The Tail of Gravity Falls
by PFTones3482
Summary: Yes, the title's stupid. Couldn't think of anything better. Sequel to The Secret Life of Candace. You should probably read that first. The Flynn-Fletchers go to Gravity Falls and stay with the Pines family. Dipper finds a new section to his book that he missed before, and it opens up a world of secrets. T for blood and evil mermaids...bwahaha.
1. Car Rides Stink

**CHAPTER 1- YAY! SEQUEL! I'm going to have fun with this!**

**This occurs before the New Years episode of Phineas and Ferb and after the Summerween episode of Gravity Falls, but before Boss Mabel (Obviously, since I published this before it aired).**

**So, to all of you who haven't read _The Secret Life of Candace_ and just thought this looked interesting, this story would make a little more sense if you read the other one first. But you don't have to, because I threw in a brief summary of what happened in the last story. For those of you who have read that, you can just skip over that part if you want to. That made sense, right?**

**Now that my monologue is over, I'M SUPER FREAKED OUT IN A GOOD WAY! My first actual crossover...Ok, I should probably let you actually read this now. **

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls (seriously, why can't they crossover in real life?)**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, and Candace had to spend it stuck in the car on a grimy highway. If only people could learn to recycle… On the bright side, her brothers were both asleep, so at least it was pretty quiet.

Her father was driving, her mother was dozing, and Perry was flopped on his back on Phineas' lap, snoring lightly. Candace was tempted to shake him awake to stop his snoring, but instead she turned and looked out the window at the passing trees.

She stared at the green landscape for so long that her eyes started to cross. She turned to her father, and, keeping her voice low because it was only quarter to seven, she asked, "How much longer until we get there, Dad?"

Her father glanced at her in the rearview mirror, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "In two and a half hours or so, why?"

Candace sighed and thumped her head onto the cool glass of the window. "My legs are cramped. I need to go out and _do _something."

Lawrence chuckled. "Well, we'll be stopping soon for a quick breakfast, so you can stretch then."

Candace hesitated, rubbing her legs lightly. "That wasn't really what I meant, but ok."

Lawrence glanced at her in the mirror, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh. Sweetie, I think there's a lake at Gravity Falls. Stanford said something about that. You can go swimming once we're unpacked. Just remember, this place is a lot more…mysterious then Danville, according to Stan. Be careful that you don't let anyone see you."

Candace rolled her eyes. "Dad, I've been hiding this for almost two years. I can handle two weeks."

Her father nodded and resumed driving, and Candace leaned her temple against the glass of the window, thinking quietly about why they were going to this tiny town in the first place.

About three weeks ago, Candace had been kidnapped, Isabella's dog had been beaten, and her parents, and a lot of other people for that matter, had found out that she was a mermaid.

Yes, you heard right. A mermaid.

Almost two years ago, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Perry the Platypus' nemesis, made a mermaid-inator that accidentally went off and hit Candace.

Up until the beginning of this current summer, only three people had known: Isabella, Ferb, and Stacy…five, if you counted Perry and Pinky, Isabella's Chihuahua.

But then there had been this incident where Candace, her brothers, and Perry had gotten stuck in another dimension, and then a bunch of whatnot happened, then Phineas had found out she was a mermaid, then Phineas and Ferb's friend Buford, who had apparently suspected something was up with Candace, had found out she was a mermaid, then her boyfriend Jeremy had found out, then she found out that this kid Carl had known….it was just too confusing.

Long story short, after everyone but Candace got their memories erased (Perry had spared hers), she had found out that Phineas and Ferb's friend Irving had known about her, and then all the kidnapping had happened.

Isabella's next door neighbor had kidnapped her in order to discover how she had become a mermaid and how she "worked," for lack of a better term. Pinky had been beaten by the man, and then Perry had come to rescue her, only to be used as leverage. Eventually Lawrence had barged in and kicked some butt, saving Candace.

All in all, two weeks later, everyone close to her knew she was a mermaid and her parents had decided that the kids needed a break, hence the trip to Gravity Falls.

Candace mulled over all of this silently until her father spoke up. "Candace? Doing ok?"

She looked up at the man, who had slowed slightly and kept glancing up at her in the mirror. "Fine, Dad."

He raised an eyebrow and Candace sighed. "I feel kind of bad. You and Mom have to drive all the way out here just because…" she trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence. Her father smiled lightly, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Because you got kidnapped?" he said softly. He shook his head, focusing his eyes on the road before he crashed or something and lowering his voice as Linda stirred. "Sweetheart, that's not it at all. Maybe a little, but we needed to get away anyway."

Candace gave a small smile and curled her feet up under her as her father focused on the road.

"_He's right, you know. They were planning this before you got taken."_

Candace jumped slightly and glanced down at Perry, who was now laying the proper way, a lazy look in his eyes, stretched out on Phineas' lap, his beaver tail resting on Ferb's leg.

Yes, Perry had spoken to her. Oh yeah. Candace could also understand all aquatic and semi-aquatic animals, and with the help of the necklace she wore, all Chihuahua's as well (long story).

She quietly pulled out her phone and scrunched down in her seat, opening up a text box. She wasn't ignoring Perry, but with her father awake and everyone else bound to follow, she couldn't speak freely to the platypus.

See, no one, save for Carl and Pinky, knew Candace could understand Perry. That would get too many questions out of Phineas and Ferb, possibly making Perry have to relocate in the end. They knew she could understand aquatic animals, but they couldn't know about Perry. It was too risky, so Candace took every precaution when she was around anyone else, or even in her own backyard, with all of its hidden camera's that Monogram could easily see the footage from.

_Were they? _she typed.

Perry nodded so slightly that Candace barely caught it. _"Yes. You just gave them an opportunity to present the idea."_

Candace rolled her eyes and poked Perry. _Shut up. _

Perry chuckled lightly and closed his eyes, settling his head down onto his paws, the sure sign that he was either resting or protecting his family. Candace figured it was the first option, seeing as how they were in a moving car going 70 miles an hour down the highway.

Her father put on the blinker a few minutes later and pulled off the highway. He glanced back at Candace, smiling. "Why don't you wake your brothers up? We're stopping for breakfast in a couple of minutes."

Candace stretched, pulled her cheek from the comfortably cool window, and leaned over to shake Phineas and Ferb awake.

* * *

It was nine o'clock in the morning, and Dipper was ready to pitch his twin sister Mabel out the window and/or beat his head against a wall. Both options would hurt; it was just the question of deciding which would hurt less.

He was currently hiding out in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub with the "3" book on his lap. He had been flipping through it, adding notes to the pages of the creatures they had encountered already.

The door rattled and Dipper shot to his feet in surprise, the book falling to the floor. As he bent to retrieve it, he heard Mabel yelling at him through the door.

"Dipper! Hey Dipper! Come on, slowpoke, we've got to get the bedrooms ready! They'll be here any minute! OMG I'm so excited!"

Dipper rolled his eyes, knowing the family actually wouldn't be there for almost an hour, his fingers groping for the book. Gee, really? She was excited? Who'da thunk?

He finally clasped the book in his right hand and looked down at it, reaching out and unlocking the door with his other hand.

He had just twisted the knob when something caught his attention. A page almost at the end of the book was folded under, so that the page looked blank. He removed his hand from the door to get a better look, but the oak was swung open and Mabel strode in, grabbing his wrist.

"Come on, silly!" she said, yanking him out the door and down the hall to their room. "We have to move my stuff to the second floor and put new sheets and blankets on the other beds!"

Dipper sighed and glanced longingly at the book. Mabel noticed his glance and rolled her eyes. "Come on, brosif; put the book away for once. We have actual relatives our age coming to stay here!"

"They're two years younger than and four years older than us."

Mabel grinned. "So what? Close enough!"

Dipper groaned under his breath. He hated to admit it, but he kind of didn't want their relatives staying with them. Heck, yeah, he was psyched to have some other people around to hang with, but the book had told him to trust nobody, and despite excluding Mabel from that term, he wasn't sure about anyone else. Meaning that, logically, he couldn't have the book out when the two boys were around them, or the girl either.

On the other hand, Dipper thought as he stored his book on the shelf above his bed and started helping Mabel with the blankets and sheets, Grunkle Stan was acting much more cheery.

The boy smiled to himself as he walked down the stairs with Mabel's things, dumping them in one of the spare rooms.

Maybe having these people here wouldn't be too bad.

* * *

**Short, but I just wanted to throw in the views of the two main characters of this story, Candace and Dipper. The other characters (minus Doof and everyone back home, minus maybe a few texts or calls from some characters) will be prominent, but Candace and Dipper are the two I'm going to focus on. **

**So, how was the first chapter? Good? Bad? You'll continue reading? Or you'll throw your computer out the window because it's so terrible? **

**R and R! (BEFORE the computer hits the ground; better yet, rethink defenestration all together.)**


	2. They're Here!

**CHAPTER 2-Yay! I'm really happy with the response I got to this!**

**OMG. Saturday the 9****th**** is the one year anniversary of my very first story posted! **

**AAAUUGGGHHH! I can't believe it's been a year already! I FEEL SO OLD. I love everyone who's ever reviewed or favorited me, my stories, or anything! You all freaking rock, and the only reason I'm not saying this on Saturday is because I'm going to be super busy for the rest of the week, and Saturday is Sadie's at my school.**

**I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Now that I'm calmer…I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. (But you guys still rock!)**

* * *

_Maybe having these people here wouldn't be too bad. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

For about an hour, Dipper and Mabel ran around, making beds, putting clean towels in all the bathrooms, and cleaning up the store part of the Mystery Shack (it was a huge mess).

They had decided that the girl, Candace, Dipper recalled, would bunk with Mabel on the second floor in one of the extra spare rooms. The parents would take the other, and the two boys, Phineas and Ferb, if Dipper was right, would bunk with him in the attic. They had found a cot in a storage room and they would settle actual sleeping arrangements when the family got there.

What Dipper found odd was that Grunkle Stan was related to the family through the mom, which meant that Phineas and Ferb's mother was his and Mabel's cousin….or was it second cousin?

Dipper shook his head, almost spilling the soap he was pouring into the dispenser. Crazy.

He capped the soap dispenser and put away the excess soap in the closet. He headed back to his and Mabel's room and glanced around.

It was bizarre, not seeing Mabel's things in there, instead seeing neat beds and a cot. Linda, Grunkle Stan's great niece…their cousin of some descent…had mentioned that they had a pet. Stan hadn't said what it was, but Mabel had found and dragged an old dog bed to their room.

Waddles would be sleeping with Mabel. Dipper hoped that Candace liked pigs.

He opened the window to freshen the room and glanced longingly at the book.

Maybe just one peek….

"DIPPER!"

The boy jumped at his sister's yell, almost falling onto the floor. "What?" he called back.

"THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE HERE!"

Dipper grinned to himself and ran out of the room and down the stairs, almost tripping over Waddles as the pig ran down after him.

The boy skidded to a halt next to his twin, who was grinning from ear to ear. "They're here?" Dipper said breathlessly. "Where are they?"

Mabel grinned even more widely. "Ha. I knew you wanted them to stay with us!" she said triumphantly, crossing her arms and looking smug.

Dipper groaned and almost smacked himself. He should have seen that one coming. He glanced down at Waddles and scowled. "Mabel, I swear your pig is laughing at me."

Mabel grinned. "Well duh. It's cause you look silly, silly!"

Dipper mock pouted and Mabel giggled. Both twins looked up as Grunkle Stan popped his head in the room, grinning almost as much as Mabel. "They're here!" he said eagerly.

Dipper crossed his arms. "Oh no. I'm not falling for that again!"

Mabel and Grunkle Stan looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" the man asked. "They're right outside unpacking the car. Come on!"

Dipper faltered, but when both Mabel and Grunkle Stan left the room, he followed them quickly to the front porch.

Sure enough, a station wagon had pulled to the side of the store, right where Stan had told them to park over the phone.

Dipper watched curiously as the front doors of the car opened.

From the passenger side, a woman with bright red hair got out and stretched her back, surveying the area. She bent and touched her toes, making it obvious that she did some kind of yoga.

Dipper glanced at the driver's side, where a tall man with dark brown hair got out. He had rectangular glasses perched on his nose, and looked absolutely beat. Rather than stretching like his wife, he merely shut the door and walked to the back of the car, popping open the trunk and disappearing behind it.

As his wife walked around the car to help him, the back doors of the station wagon swung open. Dipper glanced over at the first person to get out.

What intrigued him wasn't the shape of his face or the manner in which the boy dressed; those resembled the man so much that Dipper was sure he was looking at the biological son of the man. No, what intrigued Dipper was the bright green color of the boy's hair. It was so unnatural, yet it suited him.

The boy turned back to the car and held open the door a little wider, and an animal of some kind hopped out, though it was obscured by the door so that Dipper couldn't see what it was.

Another boy scrambled out after the animal and this time Dipper felt his mouth literally drop. The kid was related to the mother, based on his red hair, and his sense of style was simple enough: a striped t-shirt and shorts.

But his head was a triangle.

Mabel, next to him, also looked stunned. "Wow," she commented. "He must have a really hard time putting on his shirt in the morning."

Dipper bit back a laugh and trained his eyes to the other side of the car, where a teenage girl was climbing out, intently texting someone on her phone as she shut the door. Her long red/orange hair swung behind her as she disappeared behind the raised trunk to help grab bags.

As they did this, Dipper turned to Mabel. "So. What do you think about having them stay with us now that you've seen them?"

Mabel shrugged. "They seem neat. A triangle head? Green hair? That's weirder than some of the things we've seen here!"

"Now kids, be nice," Grunkle Stan scolded, acting very out of character for him.

Mabel and Dipper looked up at him curiously and the man rolled his eyes. "She does happen to be my great niece…which is weird, because you kiddos are "great" too. Bizarre."

With that statement, Stan fairly leapt down the steps and strode over to the car, embracing the woman and shaking the man's hand as the kids walked over to Dipper and Mabel.

Dipper had to force himself not to gape at the triangular head of the red haired boy, but the kid's smile was so sincere and bright that Dipper found himself smiling as well.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the red head said, waving his free hand and grinning. "I realize my head has a…peculiar shape. A picture would last longer, you know."

Mabel had the grace to blush and look down at her shoes, and Dipper winced. "Sorry. We've just never seen anyone with…."

He waved at the boy's triangular head and all three kids burst into laughter. "Wow, Phineas," the girl said, "you're like a tourist attraction."

"Don't say that!" the twins yelped in unison.

The trio looked startled, and the red head, apparently Phineas, spoke up. "Why not?"

Dipper chuckled. "Grunkle Stan just might take you up on that statement and make you a tourist attraction."

The girl laughed. "He wouldn't really do that….would he?" she asked, seeing the identical looks on the twin's faces.

Mabel grinned. "He tried with us, until he realized that twins aren't really unusual."

The twins laughed and when Dipper finally stopped, he shook his head and held out his hand. "Sorry. My name's Dipper. That's my sister-"

"I can introduce myself, silly!" the girl said, poking him in the shoulder. "I'm Mabel."

Phineas shook their hands, still smiling. "I'm Phineas, and that's my brother Ferb. He doesn't talk a whole lot, but don't let that fool you."

He didn't finish that sentence with what Ferb was really like, and Dipper found himself looking over at Ferb curiously. The green haired boy noticed him watching and, twinkle in his eye, winked.

"I'm Candace," the teen said, which Dipper had assumed, what with her being the only girl. "So, what do we do with our stuff?" she asked, gesturing down at the bags by their feet.

Dipper slapped his forehead. "Oh, yeah, right! Here, follow us."

As the kids leaned over and picked up their bags, Dipper finally spotted the animal at their side; it was a teal platypus.

"You have a platypus?" he said in disbelief.

Phineas looked surprised. "Yeah, his name's Perry. I'm stunned, not many people know what he is."

Mabel finally spotted what they were looking at, and she squealed in delight, darting forward, and scooping Perry into a tight hug, squeezing him half to death. "OMG, he's SO CUTE!"

Perry let out a strangled chatter as he struggled in Mabel's death grip.

Was it Dipper's imagination, or did Candace smother a laugh? "Mabel, come on," the girl said, reaching out and prying Perry from her grip. "We're going to be here for two weeks. Don't strangle our platypus yet."

Mabel reluctantly let Perry go and Candace set him back on the floor of the porch, picking up her bag again.

The twin's led the group inside, past all the trinkets in the gift shop, and up the back stairs to where they lived.

"Ok," Dipper said as they reached the second floor. "Candace and Mabel are staying on the second floor, along with your parents, in two separate rooms of course. Phineas, you, Ferb and I will be bunking in the attic, where Mabel and I usually share a room. That cool with you guys?"

The trio nodded. "Come on Candace; let me show you our room!" Mabel said eagerly, grabbing the teen's wrist.

Candace chuckled and let Mabel pull her down the hall. Dipper grinned as he and the boys continued climbing the stairs. "I hope your sister likes pigs," he laughed as he pushed open the door to his and Mabel's room.

"Why?" Phineas asked, placing his suitcase down and glancing around curiously.

"Because, while you have a platypus, we have a pig. His name is Waddles."

Phineas looked at Dipper, amusement in his eyes. "You have a pig named Waddles?"

Ferb gave a small chuckle, speaking for the first time since Dipper had met him. "Well, to be honest Phineas, we were going to name Perry Bartholomew."

Dipper looked at the boy in surprise. "You…you have a British accent!"

Ferb rolled his eyes, a grin twitching at his lips as he opened his suitcase. Dipper shook his head. "Sorry, that was rude. I was just surprised. And…you were going to name Perry Bartholomew?"

Phineas smiled, starting to put some clothes in the dresser Dipper had cleared out for them, clearly putting his things in the bottom two drawers while Ferb put his in the top two. "It wasn't rude; Ferb actually gets that a lot. And yeah, not one of our better ideas. Now Perry is a much better name."

Dipper nodded. "Yeah. Well, Mabel named Waddles, so we don't need an explanation there."

Phineas grinned, looking up as he re-folded a shirt that had gotten tossed around during the ride. "She does seem very perky."

As he put the shirt in the drawer, Dipper caught Ferb's eye again and the boy found himself smothering a grin at the British boy's look. Ferb rolled his eyes, the smile now visible on his face as he went back to putting his things away.

He glanced at the beds in the room, and then the cot. "Who wants to sleep where?" he asked, gesturing around, his gaze stopping briefly on the "3" book on the shelf before resting it again on the brothers in front of him, noticing Perry lounging in the dog bed out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll take the cot," Phineas said, shutting a drawer and moving to the next. "We can rotate throughout the next two weeks, so everyone gets the chance to sleep on a bed."

Dipper had no better solution, so he started helping Phineas and Ferb set up the room, briefly wondering how Candace and Mabel were doing.

* * *

**Yay! They have made contact! I will probably have the next chapter up within the next week or so! **

**Let me know what you thought, and whether or not I'm getting the hang of the characters (btw, Stan is going to be a little ooc throughout the whole thing, because Linda is his favorite great niece, except for Mabel of course, so he wants to be a little better around her. Though you will see the old Stan at points)**

**Anyway, R and R! (AND I STILL LOVE YOU ALL)**


	3. Lunchtime is Always Crazy

**CHAPTER 3- You guys are all wonderful for reviewing!**

**To Elizabeth: Slow down with the questions. I can't answer them all in my author's notes and you don't have an account. Plus many of your questions are irrelevant to this story. This story only contains Gravity Falls and Phineas and Ferb, and nothing else. If I do a crossover of something else, you'll know, but for now stick to just this story please. I love that you're so interested, but most of your questions will be answered in time. **

**This chapter involves more settling in, and you finally get a chance to REALLY get to know Waddles…hee hee hee. I'm sneaky. **

**AND OMG! It has been EXACTLY A YEAR since I posted my first fanfic! My anniversary was yesterday, but I had Sadie's…and now I have blisters on my feet. But it was fun!**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Bummer. **

* * *

_Dipper had no better solution, so he started helping Phineas and Ferb set up the room, briefly wondering how Candace and Mabel were doing. _

* * *

CANDACE'S POV

* * *

Let's just put it this way: Mabel was like Phineas on a sugar high. I don't think I've ever seen anyone perkier than Phineas in my life, so this was a big shocker.

I followed her to the room that we were apparently sharing, and she threw the door open with a flourish, allowing me to see the room-and the pig lounging on one of the beds.

"You have a pig on your bed," I said in disbelief, not certain whether or not I was imagining the animal.

"Yup," Mabel said, grinning and picking up the animal, hugging it tightly, though less death like than when she had squeezed Perry. "His name is Waddles."

I raised an eyebrow and tossed my suitcase on the other bed before opening it and starting to unpack, tossing my things into the dresser that had obviously been cleared out for me. "Will he sleep in here with us?" I asked curiously, hanging up some skirts in the closet.

Mabel nodded. "Yeah. But sometimes he switches and goes to Dipper's bed."

I blinked, looking around at the pig. That's exactly what Perry did, to make sure we were all safe. "That's ok," I said, turning slowly back to the closet and putting another skirt in. "Perry does that too, so don't be surprised if he sneaks in here at some point."

I wasn't positive that he would, because of the way Mabel had hugged him, but I figured he wouldn't want to leave me alone. Despite relaxing a little now a days, because of how Dad had handled the guy who had kidnapped me, proving that he could and would protect us, Perry still didn't like to leave any of us alone for too long by ourselves or with people we didn't know too well.

"That'd be neat," Mabel said, tugging lightly on the end of her hair and twirling it thoughtfully around her finger. "I mean, Waddles won't be here all the time. Sometimes, even when Dipper and I are in the same room, he leaves for a while. I think he hangs out with Grunkle Stan, but I asked Grunkle Stan once and he said no."

I had frozen in place, coat hanger in one hand and skirt in the other, my brain working furiously. There was no way Waddles was an agent like Perry, was there?

I glanced back over at the pig, studying him discreetly. His eyes were closed, preventing me from seeing if there was any spark of intelligence in them, but rather than being relaxed, his body was tense, his ears twitching constantly.

He might just be a pig protective of his owner, but still….there was one easy way to find out if he was an agent.

I'd have to talk to Perry later.

I hung the last skirt in the closet and turned to put my toothbrush and toothpaste into the bathroom, only to find the rest of my suitcase cleared out and Mabel returning from the bathroom.

I pointed to the case and looked at Mabel. "Did you..?"

Mabel nodded. "Yup. It's time for lunch, and you seemed a little sidetracked so I took the initiative to put away your things for you."

I stared at the girl, openmouthed, and she grinned at me. "What? I can be smart too. But seriously, it's time for lunch. Grunkle Stan put together a sandwich bar, so hopefully the guys haven't taken it all!"

I grinned as I followed Mabel and Waddles out the door and down the hall, hearing the thumping feet of the boys overhead, and the lighter pitter-patter of Perry's paws.

I could get used to hanging out with these kids.

* * *

PERRY'S POV

* * *

I followed the boys down the stairs. All three were laughing and they seemed like they had known each other a lot longer than they really had.

As I trotted down the stairs after them, I saw Candace, Mabel, and the pig, Waddles, starting down the stairs on the second floor landing. I caught Candace's eye and she jutted a discreet thumb at the pig, then gave me a wink-our code for when she thought some animal was an agent, but wasn't sure.

The code had actually been necessary a few times, so I was glad we came up with it.

As the kids all plowed down the stairs, I veered my course to block Waddles, the pig skittering on his hooves slightly as he stopped abruptly on the wooden floor boards.

I met his glare with an even, cool gaze and he immediately chilled, studying me carefully with the air of an agent. His eyes slowly widened and I glanced down to see what he was looking at. The only thing on me was my collar, so I didn't see what stunned him so much.

"_Hold everything. You're _the _Perry the Platypus?" _he oinked.

I looked up at him, surprised. _"Wait, you know who I am?"_

Waddles nodded emphatically. _"Yeah. You're a legend up here."_

"_So I take it you _are_ a secret agent?"_

Waddles looked at me curiously. _"Um, yes. Well, kind of."_

I cocked my head curiously. _"What do you mean, kind of?"_

The pig shrugged and sat down, and I followed his lead. Better to be found sitting than standing when it looked like we were holding a conversation.

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"_Well, here in Gravity Falls, we aren't assigned evil villains the way you are. A lot of small towns don't have enough actual evil scientists to compensate for the amount of agents there are. So instead, we're assigned to families, namely one's with kids, in order to protect them in case something was to happen. In some cases, like with Cheekums the Hamster, we actually prevent our families from doing evil." _

Perry balanced on his hind legs, holding his hands up and shaking his head. _"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You have _kids _here who are evil?"_

Waddles pondered that for a moment. _"Well, really only two, but Pacifica isn't evil; she's just a spoiled rotten brat. But Gideon….heck yeah, I think he's evil. He tried to kill Dipper, for Pete's sake."_

Perry's jaw dropped. Sure, Candace had almost been killed a week or two ago, and hell yeah, he was still seething over it, but it had been a crazy adult trying to do it. Not a kid. _"Wha-how did he do that?"_

Waddles hesitated. _"I'm not positive, because I was assigned to the Pines' family only after that incident, but I don't think you'd believe me even if I did tell you what I heard."_

Perry smirked. _"You'd be surprised what I would believe."_

The pig raised an eyebrow. _"Ok…well, according to Dipper and Mabel, Gideon had some kind of…levitation rock, which he could use to make things move with his mind."_

Perry nodded and blinked when he noticed Waddles watching him suspiciously. _"What?"_

"_Who told you I was an agent, Perry? You're a legend; I however, am certainly not, and you certainly don't seem surprised or unconvinced of the levitation rock at all."_

The platypus was stunned, and he glanced away from Waddles, his brain racking for an idea. There was no way any agent could identify another if they didn't inhabit the same county or state, unless the agent happened to be Perry, or Peter, who worked in multiple states.

And here was this pig, who seemed to know a bit about supernatural things. Perry looked back over and saw the look Waddles was giving him, and he realized that if he lied now, Waddles would just go ahead and find out what he was hiding in order to protect the family.

Perry couldn't let the pig be his enemy if they were going to spend the next two weeks in the same house. And while it was Candace's secret he was now feeling the need to spill, it would keep her safer, especially if Perry wasn't around.

"_Candace. Candace told me," _he finally said.

Waddles couldn't have looked more surprised if Perry had told him that it was Abe Lincoln who told him. _"Candace? As in your owner Candace? Dear gosh, Perry," _he said as the platypus nodded, _"you blew your cover! You know I can't hide this, right?"_

Perry shook his head furiously. _"Yes, you can. Because the intern who works in my division knows that Candace knows, and he's fine with it, willing to take the risk. Now can I please explain why?"_

Waddles paused and stared at the ceiling for a long time. Finally, he let out a small snort. _"Fine. But if I don't like the reason, I have every right to tell."_

Perry nodded his consent, sat down, and started the story.

* * *

Candace and the other kids had just started eating lunch. Grunkle Stan, Linda, and Lawrence were who knows where, and Ferb had taken all the ham, causing a short fight before Mabel had protested that they shouldn't be eating ham in a house with a pig, pointing out that they wouldn't eat platypus meat. That had put an end to the ham squabble very quickly, and now everyone was eating quietly.

Phineas glanced up as Perry and Waddles walked in, and he smiled, swallowing his bite of sandwich. "Oh, there you are Perry."

Perry chattered, as if greeting Phineas, but what Candace heard was, _"I'm sorry, Candace, but I had to tell Waddles about you."_

Candace practically choked on her sandwich, and Dipper looked at her in concern. "Are you ok?"

She coughed and took a gulp of water, nodding. "Yeah, I think so. Went down my windpipe," she said, gesturing to her sandwich.

The boy nodded and resumed eating, and Candace glanced down at Perry, who was looking at her pleadingly. She shot a look at Waddles, who was lying under Mabel's feet and watching her curiously, and then slowly returned to her sandwich.

Perry trotted over and nudged her foot, chattering very softly. _"You aren't mad, are you? I'm sorry, I had to. He was going to turn me in for you knowing."_

Candace flinched and shot a glare at the pig, who gave her a sheepish looked and turned away.

"_Don't get mad at him, Candace. He's just doing his job," _Perry said, so softly that Candace had to strain her ears.

Candace put her hand up on the table, "accidentally" flipping her fork onto the ground. As she leaned over to pick it up, she scratched Perry behind the ear and whispered, "I'm not mad."

These actions went unnoticed by all of the kids except for Dipper. He didn't hear the comment Candace had given Perry, but he had seen the glare she gave Waddles, the way she had reacted every time Perry chattered, and he wondered if she was usually this jumpy…maybe she didn't like pigs?

Dipper shrugged it off and returned to picking at his sandwich, his thoughts still on the book upstairs, wondering what the heck could be under that hidden page. Maybe it told him who wrote the book…? Nah, that didn't seem very likely.

"So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?" Phineas asked, putting down the crusts of his sandwich and reaching for his half empty glass of milk.

"Ooh! We should show you guys around town!" Mabel said eagerly.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is there to show them?" he pointed out.

Mabel raised a hand and started ticking things off on her fingers. "The diner, the arcade, city hall, the library, the lake….hey! We could go swimming when we're done!"

Candace almost choked again, and Phineas and Ferb cast a worried glance at her. Dipper frowned. "What? Despite the actual appearance of the town, the lake is clean, guys. Has a lifeguard and everything….except on Wednesdays."

Candace shook her head, managing to swallow the last bite of her food. "It's not that…I'm…I'm actually kind of scared of water," she said slowly, hoping her face wasn't beet red from lying. "There was this incident a summer ago where Ferb almost drowned…."

She trailed off and Dipper looked at Ferb in disbelief. "And yet you're not scared to go swimming?"

Ferb gave a shrug. "It takes quite a bit to scare me," he said, glancing at his sister with a soft smile.

"AHHHH! Dipper, you didn't tell me he was British!" Mabel shrieked. Dipper winced and mouthed an apology to Ferb, who looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

Candace gave a small grin to Perry and leaned back in her seat as Mabel freaked out over Ferb's "Britishness."

One dilemma down. She wished she had an idea as to how many more there would be.

* * *

**Yay! Third chapter down! I hope I'm doing ok! Let me know!**

**Ha ha. I had to throw something in there about ham. Just…inside joke. **

**R and R!**


	4. Bedazzlement

**CHAPTER 4-Wooh! Happy Mardi Gras! I made a mask in French club, and it looks cool. Me and my friend were walking from school to our public library wearing them, and people in their cars were just like..."Huh?"**

**So, here is this chapter. By the way, to my guest reviewer Becca: You're getting somewhere...(;**

**I don't own Gravity Falls or Phineas and Ferb. **

**Again. In case you didn't already know. **

* * *

_One dilemma down. She wished she had an idea as to how many more there would be. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Showing the group the town took a lot longer than Dipper would have thought, only because Mabel decided to stop and have a conversation with everyone she saw, whether or not they wanted to participate in that conversation.

They had just exited the library when they ran into Wendy; quite literally.

Dipper winced and leaned over to pick up the books she had been carrying. "Sorry, Wendy," he said, handing the novels over with a faint blush on his cheeks, one that didn't go unnoticed by Candace.

She gave a small smile and cocked her head. "So this is Wendy?"

The reddish-brown haired girl looked up and pushed the sleeves of her plaid shirt a little farther up her arms, a smile on her face. "Hey. Yeah, I'm Wendy. You guys must be the Flynn-Fletchers. Mabel's been going on and on about you for the last week."

Everyone turned to look at the girl and she grinned and shrugged. "What?"

Wendy chuckled and held out her hand. "Wendy Corduroy, at your service."

Candace smiled and took her hand. "Candace. These are my brothers, Phineas and Ferb," she said, gesturing to each in turn.

Mabel darted over and mock whispered, "Ferb is British!"

Wendy snorted and glanced at the boy with a grin. The green haired boy rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Never really thought it was a big deal," he said with a smile.

Dipper laughed and looked up at Wendy. "Yeah, they're staying with us for a week or two in the Mystery Shack."

Wendy nodded. "Nice. Has Stan turned you into a tourist attraction yet?" she asked, directing her question at Phineas.

The entire group cracked up until a voice interrupted them. "What tourist attraction?"

Everyone spun to see Stan walking down the street, his trademark cap's tassel swinging. He stopped in front of the group and studied Phineas.

"Nah," he said finally, smiling. "Your mother might smack me. But kid, you could make some money off that head."

Phineas nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Candace asked curiously.

Stan glanced behind him and frowned. "Not sure. What are you punks doing?"

The kids shrugged. "We were showing them around the town," Mabel said.

Stan squinted an eye shut and looked at the kids curiously. "What is there to show them?"

"That's what I said!" Dipper cried, throwing his hands in the air.

Candace stifled a giggle and glanced behind Stan to see her parent's walking around the corner, holding bags in each hand.

"Oh, here they come!" Candace said, gesturing behind him with her hand. Stan turned around and smiled.

"Hi Linda," he said, "Lawrence. Did you find anything when you went shopping?"

Linda glanced down at the numerous bags clutched in their hands, then at Lawrence, then back at Stan. "Nope, not a thing."

Stan rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, be sarcastic."

* * *

Candace walked into the bedroom she was sharing with Mabel, practically falling over from laughter. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stumbled over to the bed, collapsing onto it and shaking so hard with laughter that the bed quivered.

Mabel walked in, giggling slightly, a bedazzling gun in her hand.

Perry waddled in behind her, glaring angrily at Candace. _"Not funny, Candace."_

Candace hiccupped and sat up, clutching her stomach. "Oh….oh my gosh, I can't breathe. I cannot believe you bedazzled Perry!"

Said platypus scowled at Candace before walking over to the edge of the bed and plucking off one gem at a time with his teeth. It was slow going, especially since they were _everywhere._ His face, his paws, his stomach, even his tail. He looked like a living disco ball.

"I didn't know it would go off like that," Mabel said sheepishly, looking down at the malfunctioning gun in her hand. "I only wanted to put a smiley face on my new sweater….I didn't mean to bedazzle the entire living room."

Perry looked up at Candace and spit a gem from his beak. _"How come you didn't get hit with this thing?"_

Candace chuckled and shook her head, her breathing slowly returning to normal. She flopped onto the floor next to Perry and started picking the gems off of him carefully.

Mabel sat next to her and started helping, staring sadly at her bedazzling gun. "You know," Candace commented, flicking a pink gem into the trash, "you could get Phineas and Ferb to fix it."

The girl glanced up, her eyes sparkling. "Do you really think they could?"

Candace snorted and tossed another gem over her shoulder, where it settled with a satisfying thump into the wastebasket. "Hey, you're talking about the boys who made a rollercoaster with rivets and peanut butter."

Mabel's head flew up. "They did _what_?"

Candace glanced up and chuckled. "Yeah. They didn't tell you? Let's see…"

She leaned back on one hand and tapped her chin. "They made a rollercoaster, a portal to Mars, tree house robots, a monster truck, travelled through time in a refurbished time machine, they-"

"Wait," Mabel said quickly, her eyes glimmering with curiosity. "You guys went back in time? That's crazy!"

"I mean, maybe, but when you actually-"

"No, I mean Dipper and I have gone back in time too!"

Candace looked over at the girl and started picking gems off of Perry again. "Really? How?"

Mabel shrugged. "There was this weirdo guy at this fair that Grunkle Stan set up, and he had a time machine tape measure thingy that Dipper needed to use to fix stuff. Things got a little crazy though. We almost got eaten by a t-rex."

Candace blinked in surprise. "Really? We did too. And I got electrocuted."

Mabel winced. "That sounds like it would hurt."

The girls were quiet for a moment. "So you really think they would fix my gun for me?" she asked, jutting a thumb at the device.

Candace nodded. "Oh yeah. So, my dad mentioned that this town has some strange things going on."

Mabel plucked the last gem off of Perry and tossed it into the trash, standing and dusting her hands before moving to her bed. Candace did the same, sitting cross legged and facing the girl, who reached over to the bookshelf next to her, where all of the books she had brought down from her room were. She plucked one off the top shelf and slid off of her bed, walking over to Candace's.

She sat down next to the girl and Perry hopped up next to Mabel, jumping slightly when she reached over, but her fingers only stroked his back lightly.

"Yeah, there are some pretty crazy things here," she said, removing her hand from Perry's back and flipping open the book-a scrapbook, Candace realized. "No vampires as of yet," she muttered, her face pouty, "but I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

Candace raised an eyebrow and glanced at Perry, who just gave a subtle shrug. Mabel flipped to the first page and Candace leaned over her shoulder to peer at the pictures and words.

"Are those….gnomes?" she asked in disbelief. Then again, she was a mermaid…she probably shouldn't judge.

Mabel nodded, her face twisting in a rare showing of disgust that usually only appeared around Robbie, Wendy's boyfriend, who Candace had met earlier that afternoon.

"Yeah. There leader's name was Jeff. He tried to get me to marry him."

Candace held back a snort of laughter at the look on the girl's face. It was obvious she wasn't making this up.

Mabel flipped to the next page and Candace cocked her head. "Is that...a giant lizard?" she asked.

Mabel shook her head. "Nope," she said, popping the 'p' in the word. "It's a giant metal sea monster."

Candace raised an eyebrow. Well that wouldn't be good if she went swimming. "And it's still in your lake?"

Mabel shook her head again. "No. The lifeguard and a bunch of guys fished it out almost a week or two ago."

Candace nodded and Mabel flipped yet another page. "Why is Dipper beating up Sherlock Holmes with a candlestick?"

"Oh, they were wax figures that came alive and tried to kill Grunkle Stan, me, and Dipper," Mabel said cheerfully.

Candace looked over at the girl and smiled. "And you were standing there taking pictures?"

Mabel quickly turned the page, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Candace couldn't believe how crazy some of the pictures were. One was of a couple of old ghosts and Dipper in a lamb suit (Candace decided she wouldn't say anything about that), one was of several Dippers, like clones, all gathered around a piece of paper, another was of Mabel and Dipper with tiny heads giving each other giant bunny ears.

Candace finally looked up, chuckling. "You're right. This is a strange town."

Mabel shrugged and put the scrapbook on the shelf again. "I kind of wish there were cooler things though."

Candace cocked her head. "Like what?"

The girl glanced down and traced a pattern over her bedspread. "I don't know, like pixies, or mermaids or something."

She looked up, her face red. "I know it's kind of stupid but-Candace? You ok?"

Candace quickly shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired. Ready for bed?"

Mabel glanced at the clock, which read 9:30, and shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Are you sure you're ok?"

Candace nodded and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaning heavily on the sink. That was a little too close to home, even if Mabel didn't know that she actually was a mermaid.

Candace hesitated. She really needed to go swimming. The idea actually scared her a little, but she needed to do it.

In reality, she hadn't been swimming since the day she revealed herself in Isabella's pool. She'd just been too terrified to do it.

But now, as she leaned on the sink and tried not to read too much into what Mabel had said, she realized that she needed to get out and go swimming.

A creak from behind her made Candace spin, and she expected Mabel to walk in. Instead, Perry slipped inside the room, his hand lightly on the doorknob and his feet soundless on the floor. Candace glanced out into the room in confusion, but Mabel was sound asleep already.

The girl turned back to Perry, and the platypus let out a soft chatter. _"Are you sure you're ok, Candace?" _

She hesitated, and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, Perry. I'm going to go for a swim."

Perry raised an eyebrow. _"Not alone, you're not. I'll go with you."_

Candace paused, and then slowly sighed, knowing she wasn't going to deter the animal. "Fine. You can come. But what about Mabel? I don't want to leave her alone…not after what you said Waddles told you about Gideon."

Perry frowned. _"I know. But we won't be gone too long, will we?"_

Candace shook her head and slipped off her shoes, leaving them under the bed and setting a seashell on the nightstand.

Her brothers had come up with the idea before they left for Gravity Falls. Anytime she needed to get out and swim, she would leave a seashell somewhere, so that her parents or brothers would know she was ok.

Candace tiptoed out the door and shut it quietly, while Perry went upstairs to tell Waddles they were leaving. She re-joined him on the stairs and they had just gotten to the front door when a voice made Candace freeze.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Candace spun to see Grunkle Stan behind her, his arms crossed over his chest. She hesitated, hand on the doorknob as she searched for an answer.

"Out for a walk," she finally said.

Stanford raised an eyebrow. "In your socks?" he pointed out, motioning to her feet.

Candace gulped and glanced out the door. Stan frowned slightly and studied the girl carefully. "Fine. Go. Not like I'm in charge of you or anything. But be back before the crack of dawn or your parents will kill me."

Candace looked up in surprise. "Really?"

Stan nodded. "Yeah. Get out of here before I change my mind."

Candace paused, and as Stan walked out of the room, she turned and bolted out the front door before he could stop her.

* * *

**Yay! Chapter four done! **

**BTW, it was really funny, because I was almost done with chapter 6 when I put up the first chapter, and a couple of people asked if I would make Mabel bedazzle Perry...and I had already written it! LOL**

**Please R and R!**


	5. Don't Swim in Freezing Water!

**CHAPTER 5- I reference the episode "Out to Launch." **

**To Becca: Girl, you are just going to have to wait. (;**

**Elizabeth: Again, chill. I can't answer so many questions. And if you would wait, a lot of your questions will be answered. **

**MY BIRTHDAY IS ON WEDNESDAY! I'M SO EXCITED! My friends are throwing me a party in my school cafeteria. They got me a Perry cake! I love them so much!**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. **

* * *

_Candace paused, and as Stan walked out of the room, she turned and bolted out the front door before he could stop her. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace and Perry walked several paces in the cool night air before Candace finally spoke. "What did Waddles say when you told him we were leaving?"

Perry shrugged, hard to do since he was walking on all fours, because they didn't know who they would run into. _"Not much. He just said to be careful. Phineas, Ferb, and Dipper were all still awake. They were discussing inventions and monsters and things like that."_

Candace chuckled and tucked her hands in her pockets, glad that she had changed into jeans earlier that day. However, her smile slowly deflated and she shook her head. "I still don't get it. Why did Stan let me leave?"

Perry shrugged again. _"I heard Dipper say that he normally is pretty gruff and easy going. He's just acting different because your parents are here. He probably figures that you're a teenager, you can handle yourself."_

Candace gave a small smile. "Well, I do have mermaid powers and a secret agent platypus with me, so he's right."

Perry smiled and followed Candace as she turned into the entrance of the lake, which Mabel had enthusiastically showed them earlier. She stumbled down to the shore, her socks making it harder to walk on the smooth rocks that lined the shore, then the gentle sand.

She stood at the edge of the water for a long time, listening to the lapping noise it created when it hit the sand at her feet. Perry nudged her ankle encouragingly.

"_Come on Candace. What did Phineas and Ferb tell you last summer?"_

Candace looked down at the platypus, baffled. "What _are _you talking about?"

Perry snorted. _"You can't let fear rule your life."_

The girl rolled her eyes. "Perry, you weren't even there when they told me that."

Nevertheless, she took off her socks and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She tucked the cellular device into the sock and slid it onto the lifeguard platform. She had learned the hard way that if her phone was in her pocket, it wouldn't be protected when she transformed like her clothes would.

Candace turned back to the edge of the lake and stared at it some more. Finally, when Perry nudged her yet again, she took a tentative step…backwards.

Perry gave a low growl in his throat that didn't translate to anything, but Candace just held up a hand and backed up a few more steps.

She bent her knees slightly and took a breath before breaking into a sprint and diving into the cold water, slicing through it quickly with Perry right behind her.

She stopped twenty feet out and shivered for a minute, her tail swishing gently under her. "It's f-f-freezing in the lake," she muttered to Perry as he swam up, panting a little.

Perry held up a hand and gasped. _"Yeesh. When did you get so fast?"_

Candace smirked and tried to rub the goose bumps off of her arms. Now that she was back in the water, her tail in place of her legs, she couldn't remember why she was so scared to get in in the first place.

Candace grinned and sank a little lower under the water, her chin just touching the surface as she realized that it was warmer underwater than above. "Race you to the end of the lake?" she questioned Perry.

The platypus glared at her. _"Fine. But I get a head start. You're faster than me."_

Candace laughed, the sound echoing through the cold air. "Hard to admit, huh? Fine, you can have a thirty second head start."

Perry grunted and dove straight down, vanishing in a split second.

Candace mentally counted to thirty, then sank down and flicked her tail hard. She felt the power of it course through her as she pushed through the water.

But Perry, the little impish platypus that he was, had used his underwater jet pack to get ahead of her. Where he had even stored it, Candace didn't know.

She frowned and pumped her tail harder, but there was no way she could catch up.

She racked her brain for ideas, and slowly one formed. She was reading _Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian_, and Percy had managed to move himself with the water itself. Candace had never tried that before, but she slowly pushed her hands out to her sides and cupped her fingers so that they faced towards her head.

A huge burst of water flung Candace forward and she grinned, throwing out her left hand and curling the water around Perry so that he was stuck.

Perry looked utterly confused, until Candace flew past him. He yelled playfully in her mind, _You cheater!_

_Speak for yourself, _Candace called back, grinning and flying towards the other side of the lake.

After a few more minutes though, she slowed and surfaced, glancing around. When Perry surfaced and looked at her questioningly, Candace waved her hand around. "This lake is really big. I don't think we're going to find the other side. What time is it?"

Perry glanced at his waterproof watch. _"Almost 10:30."_

Candace winced. She had been away longer than she meant to. "We should get back," she said, sinking back under the water and flicking towards shore.

Perry followed her quietly, and Candace had only gone a few feet when she stopped and looked around, her hair floating in front of her face for a moment before she brushed it away.

_What is it? _Perry thought at her, coming to a stop and glancing around.

Candace shook her head and frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. _I don't know. Something…something's like, pulling me. I can't explain it, but it's coming from that way._

She pointed off to the right and flicked herself hesitantly in that direction. _Should I go check it out?_

Perry paused and thought it over before finally shaking his head. _No. I don't think so. You should do that when people actually know where you are. If it's pulling you there…it can't be good. _

Candace snorted. _Come on, Perry. It can't be that bad._

Perry frowned, but didn't stop her as she swam in the direction of the feeling. She stopped a few feet later and frowned. Perry swam up next to her and saw the dilemma; there was a huge rock wall in the way.

_The feeling's coming from behind this? _Perry asked, pointing to the wall.

Candace nodded. _Yeah. But there's got to be a way around it._

Perry glanced down, seeing nothing, and then looked up. _Maybe up?_

He pointed to the surface and Candace flicked her tail and swam up, Perry at her side. She pushed her hair back and shivered as the breeze hit her face again, glancing around.

At her left, where the rock wall had been, was open water, but just under the water Candace could see the top of the wall. She hesitated, contemplating going over it, when Perry touched her elbow, his fingers freezing.

"_Candace, we really need to get back. Come on, you can check this out some other time."_

Candace bit her lip and stared at the rock wall. "I know….Ok, I'm coming," she murmured, swimming quietly away from the wall and after Perry, looking forward only to warm blankets.

* * *

Dipper finally, _finally, _heard the gentle snores of Phineas and Ferb, and he sat up and knelt quietly in bed, reaching up to his bookshelf and grabbing the "3" book from its place.

He sank back into his pillows and pulled the covers up and over his head, reaching into his nightstand for the flashlight he kept there. He fumbled for the switch and flicked the light on, blinking his eyes in the sudden light.

Dipper tucked the flashlight between his chin and shoulder and opened the book in his lap. He flipped to the back pages, and carefully, so as not to ruin the book, he pulled the few pages that were tucked under so that they were right side out.

He fanned it open to the first page that had been tucked back and recognized the writing of the person who had created the book.

Dipper opted not to read aloud, for obvious reasons involving the two boys in the room with him.

_After my many adventures in this town of Gravity Falls, I have discovered many creatures of violent reputation in these parts._

"Gee, you think?" Dipper muttered to himself, recalling his misadventures with just about every creature he had run across, except, strangely, the multi-bear.

He shook his head and resumed the reading.

_However, there are some creatures I feel too violent to place in the main sections of this book. That is to say, that these creatures _will _kill you. They won't probably kill you, like most of the other creatures found in these pages, they will. There is no question of this concept. _

_If you have found these pages that I have hidden, I hope you are smart enough to ignore them, or at least will not go looking for the creature when you are done. However, I feel that I must put these creatures in here, for your own safety. _

The page ended there, and frowning and slightly nervous, Dipper turned the page. There was no picture, only a description.

_I have no name for this first creature. Nor a picture. It is too fast, too elusive. It will rip your body in half, limb from limb. There is no way to stop it, no way to escape. Luckily, there is only one in these parts, and it is rarely seen around the town. _

_I saw it once, from a distance, and that was enough. The next day, sheep were found ripped apart at a nearby farm. _

_Their hooves were-_

Dipper turned the page rapidly, not wanting to read the description of the dead sheep. The next page had a picture of what looked like a small squirrel. He didn't really want to know what that was about, so he turned to the second to last page.

Surprisingly, there was no monster description on it, or a picture.

Just a warning.

_Note: There may only be three creatures I deem necessary to put in this part of the book, but this last one is too horrible even for me. _

_There is no picture of the creature, and it is almost impossible to escape it. _

_I myself barely did. _

_I warn you, you reader, do not ever attempt to find this creature, no matter how greatly it intrigues you. It will destroy you. _

_They detest humans utterly, and will not hesitate to kill you on sight. Luckily (or unluckily) for me, they enjoy to torture their prey. If you ever find yourself in the situation of being captured by these creatures, that may be your only chance._

_Unless of course, you're not human. _

_They leave the animals and the inanimate items be; but the second a human is in their sights, they are on you._

_So please, if and when you turn this page, because I know you will, do not go after this creature. I have provided you with no further description on the other page, only a name for the creature._

_Take not lightly the creatures' name._

_And remember: I warned you. _

Dipper hesitated, his hand sliding under the page. He was about to turn it when he heard a sound from outside.

The boy shot up in bed, his book sliding to the comforter as he turned to look out the window, shielding his flashlight beam against his shirt as he squinted out the window.

Trekking quietly across the front lawn were Candace and her pet platypus Perry. What were they doing out at this time?

Candace had knocked over a plastic trashcan, which was what had alerted Dipper to her presence.

He frowned and ruffled his eyebrows. Candace…not to be mean, but she was weird. She didn't share a whole lot with other people, and now she was sneaking out.

Dipper scowled and started to turn back to the bed. He'd have to keep an eye on her. But back to more important matters…the book.

Dipper turned and carefully shined his light on the bed, being careful to keep it directed away from Phineas and Ferb.

The flashlight beam created a soft glare on the singular word scrawled across the page: _Mermaids. _

* * *

**Bwahahahahahahah- oh. Wait. Hi. Sorry. I felt really dark and menacing when I wrote that sentence. Yeah.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and let me know what you thought! I'm enjoying your feedback.**

**Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you had a great day with your friends and family (and chocolate; can't forget that)!**


	6. Sprinklers and Lakes

**CHAPTER 6- YAY! My birthday is tomorrow! And I finally got this chapter up!**

**Sorry it took longer than usual; I had a huge History project to finish, and I was babysitting all weekend, and I just couldn't find the time to get online. I hope this chapter makes up for it though!**

**Thanks Becca, for smacking me in the behind and making me remember that I actually had a story to write!**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls….they belong to some people who really need to collaborate on a crossover episode!**

* * *

_The flashlight beam created a soft glare on the singular word scrawled across the page: Mermaids. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace groaned and flopped over in bed, glaring angrily at the clock on the nightstand. It read 10:30 in the morning, but she wished it was later.

She looked down at the floor and sighed when she saw that Perry was gone…or was it Waddles who had stayed with them last night?

Candace sighed and slumped out of bed, passing Perry on the way down the stairs. She ignored him quietly, still annoyed that he hadn't let her go out and search.

It had been three days since Candace had found the rock wall, and every night since then, Perry had found some excuse not to go search it. It was too cold, the water was choppy, it was raining-as if that would affect Candace much.

She scowled at the floor. Four days in Gravity Falls, and all she wanted to do was figure out what the heck that rock wall was guarding. Phineas, Ferb, Mabel, and Dipper had been doing who knew what, but all Candace had been doing was moping and texting Stacy.

Speaking of…

Her phone buzzed in her hand, scaring Candace half to death. She flipped it open and read the text from her friend. _How's vacation so far?_

Candace frowned and pressed the respond button. _Awful. I found this rock wall in the lake and I haven't gotten to explore behind it yet. _

Stacy responded before Candace had even put her phone away.

_Why not?_

Candace furiously typed out the message. _Because, Per-_

She froze and quickly deleted what she had written. She shook her head and tried again. _Because, my parents don't know what to make of it. It freaks em out. _

_That sucks, _Stacy responded back.

Candace sighed. _TTYL gotta go eat bfast. _

She tucked her phone into her pajama pocket and slid into the booth that served as the breakfast nook.

Perry clambered up next to her, and Candace scowled, looking away from the platypus.

"_Fine."_

Perry's voice was tight, but Candace whipped her head around and looked at him in disbelief. "What?"

"_Fine, we can explore the rock wall. It just worried me. It worries Waddles, too."_

Candace grinned. "Really? Thanks so much Perry! We'll go tonight," she said firmly, digging into a bowl of blueberries, milk, and sugar. Amazingness ensued from that combination.

She finished the fruit and sugar in a few minutes, and as she took her things to the sink, she noticed the kids playing outside in a massive water sprinkler the boys had set up.

Even Candace had to admit, it was awesome.

The hose connected to a main part that looked like a regular lawn sprinkler, but then wrapped into a larger, tentacle like part that splashed everything with different colors of water. At random intervals, more sprinklers would appear out of nowhere and spray at random. It was a truly awe-inspiring invention, and the kids were having a ball.

But none of them were very wet.

Candace grinned and sprinted upstairs, putting on her usual outfit before slipping outside and leaning on the back porch railing. "Hey guys!" she called.

Mabel looked up, water dangling from her ear lobes like earrings. "Candace! Hey, come play with us!"

Candace grinned. "Thanks, but no thanks Mabel! I just got dressed!"

Phineas and Ferb looked over at her with grins, and Phineas jutted a discreet thumb at Dipper, who was jumping out of the way of the sprinklers, barely wet at all.

"Dipper, you aren't very wet," Candace commented.

Dipper glanced up. "Yeah, I'm trying to see how long I can go without getting soaked. Eight and a half minutes and counting!"

Candace smiled and flattened her palm down, twitching her fingers slightly at where she could practically feel the hidden water pipes. With a flick of her fingers, every sprinkler went off, soaking everyone, but especially Dipper.

When the water died down, he spluttered, a look of disbelief on his face. "Wha-?"

Phineas grinned at Candace. "Boy, am I glad we installed that device for a random flash sprinkling," he said, winking at his brother, who smiled in return.

Candace chuckled and sat down in a porch chair, crossing her arms and every now and then spraying someone with a splash of water. Eventually, the kids went in to change and eat a late lunch-_very _late, Candace realized, glancing at her watch and seeing that it was almost 3 o'clock. Where had the day gone?

Candace shrugged, stood, and went back inside to find only three kids eating lunch. "Where's Dipper?" she asked curiously, grabbing an apple.

Mabel talked for a moment before realizing that her mouth was full with tuna fish sandwich and no one could understand her. She swallowed and tried again. "He went up to the room to change, but he didn't come down with Phineas and Ferb. He might be resting or something."

The look on her face suggested that he might be doing something besides sleeping, something he wasn't comfortable sharing with anyone. Candace didn't pry; it was probably something embarrassing, like listening to a girly pop band.

Dipper was, in fact, listening to BABA, but it was only background noise as he flipped through his book, looking for any other references to mermaids.

He scoffed at the idea; mermaids were always innocent in any mythological story he had ever heard. The idea that they would kill someone seemed preposterous to Dipper. He was thinking that maybe the author had mistaken them for sirens, the actual mythological creatures who tried to lure people to their death.

But he couldn't find any other references, so despite the warning from the author, Dipper was determined to find out more about these mermaids.

A knock on the door made Dipper jump three feet in the air. He quickly shoved the book under his pillow. "Um, who is it?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too nervous.

"Candace. Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Candace pushed open the door and smiled at Dipper. "You better get downstairs. Everyone is eating everything."

Dipper gave a small smile. "Be down in a sec."

Candace nodded and shut the door, wondering what was up with that kid.

* * *

At seven o'clock that night, Candace and Perry slipped out the back door, with permission from her mother that she could stay out, as long as she was back by 10 o'clock.

She walked rapidly to the lake, Perry trotting to keep up. The sun was still out and bright, though it was getting lower in the sky, which was what Candace wanted. She needed to be able to see in the water, hopefully without Perry's underwater flashlight.

Luckily, the lake closed at six so that everyone could leave for dinner or whatever, an idea that Candace found strange. Then again, this was a small town.

She once again left her cell phone, this time with her shoes, on the lifeguard stand and dove into the water without hesitation.

Perry followed, and the two had reached the rock wall in no time. Candace swam up and down the length of it for a moment. "It reaches around and touches either side of the bank," she said, turning and pointing it out to Perry. "The only way in is over, like we thought."

She pressed her palms to the top of the wall, and with a bit of effort, pushed herself up and over, her tail creating a heavy splash when she landed. Perry hopped over nimbly, Candace stuck her tongue out at his smug look, and they sank under the water.

It was dark only for a moment, and then Candace's eyes got used to the difference in lighting. She glanced around.

The area was surrounded by the rock wall on one side, and smooth dirt on the other. The bottom was too far down for Candace to see, but plants and algae grew along the walls. A small hole was inserted several feet down into the dirt wall, a hole probably big enough for Candace to get through, and no one bigger.

She swam up to it and peered in, but she couldn't see in and she didn't feel comfortable swimming in. What if there were snakes or something?

Instead, she flicked her tail and started swimming down, curious as to what lay at the bottom. Something white had started to show, and the darkness was immense when Candace felt a hard yank on her tail. For a moment, she thought it was Perry, warning her not to go too far.

_Relax, Perry, I'm fine._

_You're platypus isn't here._

Candace shrieked and spun, feeling nails dig into her tail. _Nails?_

_What are you? _Candace screamed in her head, thrashing at the captor she couldn't see.

_The better question would be what are you? Human, or mermaid? We don't appreciate humans, and you smell of them. _

_Mermaid! I'm a mermaid! _Candace shrieked desperately as the nails cut into her tail.

The nails dug even harder, and Candace cried out in pain, her vision fuzzy. What the heck could possibly be that sharp, besides a knife? But this wasn't a knife-it was too small, and it felt like nails.

She was jolted upwards suddenly, her head smacking against the rocks. She blacked out for a moment, and when she woke again, she found that her hands were tied above her head and her waist was held down by what looked like seaweed, but couldn't be because they were in a lake. Candace looked closer and realized that it was old, algae covered rope binding both her hands and waist. Her tail, for some reason was free.

_Who are you? _Candace asked again, looking around anxiously, wondering where Perry was.

_You're platypus is fine, _the voice said. Candace now registered that it sounded female. _He is on the surface, because we realize that he cannot breathe long under here. _

Candace gulped. _Thank you, but who are you?_

_Much more powerful than you, that's evident. _

As if to prove the point, the faceless figure did something that made Candace fly from her bindings, all the way to the bottom of the pool. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her head and flicking her tail carefully.

Her left hand pressed down onto the white things and Candace froze, her heart pounding. She looked down slowly, and stifled a scream.

Her tail instinctively propelled her up and away from the bones that littered the cavern floor. Candace felt bile rise to her throat, but she quickly pushed it down. What were the chances they were human?

As if to answer the question, Candace turned and found herself face to bone with a human skull. She couldn't stop herself this time, and she threw up hard, panting and gripping the smooth rocks at her side.

She flung herself upwards as fast as she could, but a strong, cold hand wrapped like a vise around her wrist.

_Be calm. My sisters and I have determined that you are indeed a mermaid and are no threat to us…despite soiling our home with your vomit._

Candace slowly breathed in, trying to calm her swirling stomach and pounding heart. _Please, can you show yourself?_

The person shifted so that she was caught in the light flowing down from the surface. Candace's breath caught in her throat.

The first thing she noticed were the eyes. Her eyes were beautiful, the most sparkling green anybody could ever imagine. They glinted in the dim sunlight and were filled with life.

And then she looked at the rest of the body, and she recoiled in slight horror.

The skin around the eyes and mouth was drawn and droopy, lined with wrinkles. The ears were too small for her head, and her hair was scraggly, greasy (weird, considering they were underwater), and was a disgusting shade of green.

Her neck was sagging, and her fingers were gnarled and wrinkled. How they had gripped Candace with such ferocity was unknown. Her stomach, which showed below a horrible green bikini top that revealed _way _too much in Candace's opinion, was slightly sunken and her belly button reminded Candace of a moldy cheerio she had found once.

But what was worse was that from the waist down, she had an old, green, flaky looking tail.

* * *

**Bwahaha. Be honest. I've intrigued you. I like intriguing people...(:**

**And Elizabeth: I will tell you once, and only once: THERE ARE NO MERMEN IN THIS STORY SO STOP ASKING ABOUT THEM. **

**R and R please!**


	7. What Goes In Doesn't Come Out

**CHAPTER 7- SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! So sorry I haven't updated in my usual amount of time. Wednesday was my birthday, and then I got really sick and had to go to the hospital, and on Friday and Saturday I participated in my church's 30 Hour Famine (if anyone out there did one too, good for you!) and on Sunday I was doing a crap load of homework. I can't believe this chapter has been typed for…actually, if I tell you, you might want to beat me. **

**Real quick responses to a few reviews: **

_**Wii Guy: **_**Yeah, I know. I probably just didn't catch it when I was reading it over, and the computer doesn't always correct it. Thanks for pointing it out though!**

_**Writer of Chaos and Order: **_**I'm basically ignoring any mermaid legends here and making it up in my head. And actually, a lot of mermaid stories portray mermaids as being evil…this has become part of my daily vocabulary. Yeesh. But that's some interesting info you've got there!**

**Elizabeth: You'll see what happened to Perry (: And you'll find out soon. **

**Anyway, now that that's done, I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. **

* * *

_But what was worse was that from the waist down, she had an old, green, flaky looking tail. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace sank back a little, her jaw working. She was probably grinding her teeth to nothingness. _What do you want?_

The…the _mermaid _in front of her smiled, showing off horrible teeth that resembled a sharks. _My sisters and I wanted to warn you. I am Shona. _

Candace raised an eyebrow and looked around, almost screaming as over two dozen mermaids swam out of nowhere. All of them sort of resembled Shona, the only difference being the color of their hair, tail, and swimsuit.

_My assistant is my twin sister Pearl._

Candace looked over at the mermaid she was pointing to and grimaced. The girl's name did not reflect her image in any way. Her hair and tail, like Shona's, were green, though a darker and less repulsive color. And her skin wasn't nearly as bad. Candace found that she was the easiest to look at of all the mermaids.

Pearl nodded sternly to Candace. _What brings you here? _Pearl asked, swimming next to her sister and crossing her arms.

Candace chewed on her lip for a moment, resisting the urge to bolt. _I felt pulled by this wall that separates you, and I wanted to know what was on the other side. Why…why is this wall here? _she asked nervously, thinking about the bones on the floor.

Pearl smiled, her teeth resembling waves rather than sharks teeth._ Years ago, some of the people of this town discovered our existence. You see, child, my sisters and I….we don't like humans. They ruin our home, destroy wildlife, and test on us as much as they can to discover our secrets. _

_So you eat them? _Candace interrupted, horrified.

The sisters all made yelping sounds and shook their heads, colors flying. _Oh, no, that's disgusting! _Shona stated.

Pearl shook her head along with the others. _No, we most certainly do not eat them. We merely pull them down, torture, and kill them. The scavenger fish in here eventually eat the remains. _

_Oh, _Candace said, gulping, _that's much better. _

_Yes. When the humans discovered what we did, they managed to capture us, though we lost many sisters in the process, and they lost many of theirs. They built this wall to keep us in, and made it so that one side led to land, where we cannot tread, and the other side allows no mermaids over the sides. _

Everyone was silent, and slowly all eyes turned to focus on Candace. _You got in, _growled one mermaid with sickly yellow hair. _You are not a mermaid._

Candace looked down at her tail, and then back up at Shona, who was glaring evilly at her. _Um, I'm pretty sure I am._

Shona shook her head. _Child, I can tell you now that you are no real mermaid. You have my word that we will let you leave now with little to no harm, but be warned; if you ever come back here, we will not hesitate to attack you. Now go, before I decide otherwise._

Candace gulped and immediately propelled herself upwards. A large rock came flying up at her and sliced a large gash into her tail, causing it to bleed.

Candace gritted her teeth, pushed hard, and reached up with her hands. Before she even surfaced, she had grabbed the edge of the rock wall and when she came up, she yanked up and flung herself over it, landing hard in the water on the other side.

She came up panting and spun, searching for Perry. The platypus was laid out, unconscious, on top of the wall, and she darted over and glanced at him.

He was breathing fine, and had only a small scratch on his cheek. Candace swung him into her arms and swam from the wall as fast as she could.

Perry woke only a few moments later, almost punching Candace in the nose before she ducked under the water.

"Perry, chill!" she cried, coming back up. The platypus froze immediately and shook his head. _"Sorry Candace. What happened?"_

Candace shook her head and shuddered. "I'll tell you when we get to land."

Perry nodded and the two swam silently to shore, Candace pushing them with water every few minutes. Perry helped her to shore, and when he saw the bleeding cut on her tail, he growled with rage in such a way that Candace couldn't translate it.

She held up a hand, and the tail vanished a few moments later. The cut was still there, on her calf, but it looked less menacing. "I'll be fine, Perry."

Perry slowly nodded, his face filled with anger. He sat down and waved a hand at Candace. _"So? What happened?"_

Candace gulped as it all came back to her. Her chin trembled and she drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.

Slowly, she started in on what had happened, having to pause whenever she started shaking or started feeling sick. Perry ended up in her lap, letting her stroke him in order to calm her down.

It took almost an hour with all of her starting and stopping, and by the time she finished it was almost nine o'clock.

Candace slowly stood, Perry hopping to the ground. She slid her shoes and socks back on and tucked her phone into her pocket. "Come on," she said softly. "I don't want Phineas and Ferb anywhere near that place. I need to warn them."

Perry hesitated. _"What about Dipper and Mabel?"_

Candace stopped and cursed quietly. "I don't know. I'm obviously not going to tell them how I know, and they think I'm scared of water. I guess we'll have to hope for the best," she muttered, starting up again and kicking a rock with as much force as she could muster.

Candace and Perry walked home in silence, and the usual ten minute walk took much longer because it started raining, and Candace had to work to keep the water off of her.

When they finally did get home, it was quarter to ten, and the kids were all in bed, her parents and Grunkle Stan up watching a movie.

Linda looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her. "Candace. Was your walk ok?"

Candace nodded and walked past Grunkle Stan, stepping into the kitchen and grabbing a Popsicle from the freezer. She closed the door and jumped when she found Grunkle Stan standing there, his eyebrows knit in what looked like concern.

"Yes?" Candace asked, peeling the wrapping off and sticking the cherry flavored Popsicle in her mouth.

"You ok, kid?" Stan asked.

Candace raised an eyebrow and pulled the Popsicle out. "Yeah, I'm ok, why?"

Stan scowled and crossed his arms suspiciously. "You're bleeding," he said, pointing to her leg.

Candace winced. "I, uh, tripped and sliced my leg on a tree branch."

Grunkle Stan raised his eyebrows up into his hair. "Right. And how do you explain not being wet when it's pouring rain?"

The girl gulped slowly. "I had an umbrella."

Stan didn't bother to point out that the only umbrella in the house was Mable's pink one, and that it was leaning against the wall, bone dry.

"Kid, if you're up to something…"

Candace shook her head rapidly. "Stan, I promise, I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be doing."

Stan nodded slowly. "All right. Just take care of that cut," he grumbled, stalking out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

Candace finished her Popsicle and quietly walked up stairs. Perry had gone up to be with the boys, so Candace knew that Waddles was sleeping in Mabel's room.

As Candace rounded the corner to her shared room with Mabel, she faltered, seeing light shining from under the door.

Ok, maybe Waddles wasn't sleeping.

Candace pushed the door open quietly, smiling when Mabel looked up from the book she was reading. "Hey. What are you still doing up?" she asked, shutting the door behind her.

Mabel frowned and stroked Waddles' back. "Where were you?" she asked curiously.

Candace gave her a smile and slipped into the bathroom, changing into her pajamas and bandaging her leg. "I was taking a walk," she called out.

"But you're not wet," Mabel protested.

Candace stepped back into the room, brushing her hair carefully. "I used an umbrella," Candace said.

Mabel shook her head firmly, shutting her book with a 'snap!' and she slid off her bed. "No, you didn't, because I used my umbrella earlier, when you weren't here."

Candace winced and sat down on her bed, averting her eyes from Mabel. The girl was actually very perceptive.

"Plus," Mabel said, "even if you did use an umbrella, your shoes would be wet, and the bottoms of your legs. They aren't."

Candace shrugged, tossing the brush onto the nightstand, and grabbing her vitamins and a glass of water, proceeded to take the medicine. "So?"

Mabel planted herself in front of Candace firmly, her hands on her hips.

"Are you a mermaid?" she asked.

Candace choked on her pills, water spilling from her mouth onto the comforter. Mabel's scowl turned to worry and she thumped the girl on the back.

Candace finally took a deep breath and looked at Mabel, forcing a laugh into her eyes and voice. "Come on, Mabel, what on earth would make you think that?"

Mabel hesitated. "Well, you never ever get wet, and you say you don't like swimming, but Wendy said she saw you heading to the lake earlier tonight. I just kind of thought…"

She gestured listlessly to the book she had been reading, which Candace now realized was about mermaids.

"Mabel," Candace said gently, "even if I was a mermaid, do you think I'd tell anyone?"

The girl's eyes dimmed. "You wouldn't tell me?"

Candace hesitated. "No, if I was, probably not, until I trusted you. But I'm not, so I won't."

"You won't trust me?" Mabel asked, her eyes hurt.

Candace winced and tried to protest that that wasn't what she had meant, but Mabel just climbed dejectedly into bed and turned out her light.

Waddles looked at Candace with half sympathy and half loathing, and then jumped up onto Mabel's bed, curled up, and fell asleep.

Candace sighed and turned out her light.

Great. She had just dissed the poor girl.

The red head flopped over in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, knowing that even if she did sleep, she'd have nightmares about the mermaids in the lake.

* * *

**What? You didn't think I would have Candace actually confess, did you? I'm not that into ruining my story. (:**

**So what happens next? You'll just have to continue to read….you know, when I actually get it up.**

**Review please!**


	8. Always Believe What You Read

**CHAPTER 8- Yay! I finally updated at a decent time! Comments:**

**Elizabeth: Can't tell you most of it, but as for why Dipper isn't freaked out, we'll just say that it's because he's seen freakier.**

**Wii Guy: Yes, only Mabel and Dipper know about the book, though Wendy and Soos have seen it on occasion. **

**Not the longest chapter, but I feel I will make you want to strangle me at the end, especially if I don't update for a while...hmm...no, I will update (hopefully at a good time) but I'm going to drive you insane for a little.**

**By the way, I have a newfound love for bandannas. Yeah. I don't even know. And that has nothing to do with this, I'm just distracting you. (:**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. **

* * *

_The red head flopped over in bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, knowing that even if she did sleep, she'd have nightmares about the mermaids in the lake._

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace woke up at around nine in the morning. Mabel was already gone from her bed, but Waddles still lounged on said piece of furniture.

Candace stretched and swiveled in bed, meeting the pig's eyes. "You're not mad at me for last night, are you?" she asked, untangling her hair with her fingers.

Waddles rolled his eyes and gave a shrug and an oink. Candace hesitated.

"I mean, I love Mabel already, but she's kind of….wild, you know?"

Waddles snorted so loudly that he fell off the bed. Candace chuckled. "I take it you know."

The pig rolled his eyes again and trotted out of the room.

Candace got dressed and re-bandaged her leg, bringing back fresh waves of fear from the night before. She tightened the gauze and gulped back her fear as she descended the stairs.

"Phineas? Ferb?" she called as she reached the first floor.

Her mother looked up from the newspaper. "Your brothers, Dipper, and Mabel are out in the yard. Something about…a forest wide tree house? They have such great imaginations."

Candace rolled her eyes. Of course they did.

Before she could move, Grunkle Stan walked in, and a split second later the front door flew open and Wendy stepped over the threshold. "Hey, guys," she said, tossing her purse onto the table.

"Wendy, you're five minutes late," Stan said, pointing at the clock.

Wendy sighed. "Sorry, I was talking with my friend Raeann and I lost track of time."

Stan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't be late again."

The girl looked stunned, but Candace smiled and jutted a thumb at her oblivious mother, and Wendy grinned. "Anyway, Stan, I had a question for you. My dad and brothers are going away tonight for some father-son fishing trip thing, and they don't want me to stay alone in the house. All my other friends are doing things, or I'd ask them, but can I stay here for the night?"

Stan frowned. "I…I suppose, but I only have one really puny room left."

"That's fine," Wendy said with a shrug. "I'll bring my stuff over after my shift."

Candace smiled. "Mabel's going to be excited," she said, thinking, _Dipper's going to be _really _excited._

Wendy grinned at her and walked into the store. Candace suddenly remembered what she had originally come downstairs to do, and she darted out the front door.

Only Mabel was left in the yard, and she was busy pouring over some blueprints that Candace wasn't sure the girl understood, seeing as how she was reading them upside down.

The teen walked over and Mabel glanced up, squinting in the early morning light. "Oh. Hi Candace."

Candace winced slightly at the cold greeting. "Hey, Mabel. Um, your blueprints are upside down."

Mabel looked down at them and flipped them over with a frown. She looked up again. "Well?"

Candace sighed and sat down in the grass. "Mabel, I didn't mean what I said last night. I like you a lot, and I do trust you. Just not as much as some people, because I haven't known you that long."

Mabel glanced down at the blueprints again and sighed. "I know. Sorry. I was just a little embarrassed. I mean, I thought about it, and there is no way you are a mermaid…I mean, there is always the smidgen of possibility, but it's not likely at all."

Candace gave her a small smile and nodded. "Yup, not really likely at all. Sorry to blow your theory, Mabel."

Mabel gave a grin. "It's no problem."

"So where are the boys?" Candace asked, trying to change the topic.

Mabel pointed back behind her. "Scanning the woods to determine which parts they can put things in without getting killed by some crazy creature."

Candace paled a little and shuddered. "Great. Any idea when they'll be back?"

Mabel shook her head. "No, but they only went in a few minutes ago. You should be able to catch them. Why do you need them?"

Candace stood and dusted off her skirt. "I need to tell Phineas and Ferb something that Mom wanted me to tell them."

"I like your mom," Mabel declared, looking back at the blueprints.

Candace waited, but the girl didn't look up again, so she stalked off into the woods, keeping her eyes and ears open for any of the boys.

When a nail hit her on the head, she looked up. Of course, they would be in the air. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"Phineas! You hit me with a nail!"

Phineas removed his safety goggles and looked down at his sister. "Sorry, Candace! I didn't know you were down there!"

"Yeah, well where's Ferb?" she asked.

"Right behind you," Ferb said softly. Nevertheless, Candace practically jumped out of her shoes. "Yeesh, Ferb!"

Ferb smiled and Phineas rappelled down the tree he was in. "Did you want us for something, Candace?" Phineas asked as he unhooked himself from the cable.

Candace nodded and glanced around. "Dipper isn't anywhere, is he?"

Phineas frowned. "No, he's somewhere in front of us. But wh-?" His eyes widened and he cut himself off. "Oh. What is it, Candace?"

The girl leaned over and lowered her voice a little. "I went swimming last night, to explore this rock wall that surrounded this pool I found in the back of the lake. There was no way in except for over the wall or just wading in."

Phineas frowned and looked at Ferb, who shrugged. "Did you go in it?"

Candace nodded. "Yeah. This…this is going to sound crazy, but there were mermaids in it, Phineas. I saw them. I talked to them."

Phineas and Ferb grinned. "That's awesome, Candace!" the red head said.

Candace shook her head quickly. "No, it's not. Phineas, they threatened to kill anyone who was human…I barely got out. Don't you guys go swimming there. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you. Promise me you won't swim there."

Phineas and Ferb looked at their sister in concern. "We promise," Phineas said, "but Candace, are you sure they would kill us?"

Candace nodded emphatically. "Yes. There were…there were bones on the floor of their pool."

Phineas and Ferb both paled. "Ok. Yeah, we're not going there."

Candace stood and nodded. "Good. Please, try and keep Dipper and Mabel away from there too."

* * *

Dipper slid to the back of the house, grinning. Candace had seen the mermaids! Of course, she had lied about not liking to swim, but that didn't matter to Dipper, because she had seen them!

The second he had heard Candace say she had seen the mermaids, he had been ready to jump in and ask a million questions. He had thought better of it, and instead had backtracked and gone around the back of the house in order for them not to hear him.

He had to find proof that these creatures existed. Candace hadn't had any trouble with them. Then again, he hadn't stayed until she finished talking.

Dipper paused and glanced back, and then shook his head. Nah. She would have opened with it if the mermaids were evil.

He darted past Mabel, who was still on the ground reading the blueprints, though now she was drawing smiley's on all the curves with a sparkly pen. Dipper didn't know if Phineas and Ferb would like that….

He sprinted up the steps, ignoring Mabel's calls, and he flew up the back stairs to his room, digging around for his book.

He pulled it out from under the pillow, and flipped to the mermaid page. On the back of it, he jotted down everything he remembered Candace saying about the location.

Dipper paused and chewed on his pen slowly, trying to picture the area with his mind. He had a vague idea of where it was, but he wasn't positive. It would take a little searching, but he could probably find it.

Dipper glanced at the clock and sighed. Good. It wasn't even noon yet. They could go explore after lunch, and maybe Dipper could persuade Candace to show them where the mermaids were.

Of course, with his luck, that never happened. Phineas and Ferb refused to leave their work on the forest wide tree house, and Mabel didn't really care what she did, as long as she was having fun doing it.

At one point, after Dipper had asked for the fifth time if they could leave for the lake, he saw Phineas and Ferb look at each other meaningfully.

Dipper frowned. They looked like they weren't planning on letting him leave at all. But why? Maybe they wanted to discover the mermaids first…they were Candace's brothers after all. She would only want to tell them.

Dipper hesitated. He'd only known the Flynn-Fletchers for five days, but they didn't seem like they would act like that. Still, you never knew.

As he brought over a paint brush to Mabel, she looked up at him curiously. "Why do you keep asking to go to the lake?"

Dipper hesitated, and then knelt, his back to Phineas and Ferb. He drew the "3" book out of his vest and flipped open to the last few pages. "I found this secret page about mermaids," Dipper whispered, "and I really want to go find out if they're actually down there."

He snapped the book shut and slid it out of sight before Phineas and Ferb could see it (and before Mabel could get a good look at the page) and smiled in excitement. "I really want to find out if they're real."

Mabel raised an eyebrow and dipped the paint brush into a can of purple paint. Where Phineas and Ferb had gotten all these supplies, neither twin knew. It had seemed to just magically appear.

"Then why don't you just tell them why you want to go down, you dodo?" Mabel pointed out logically, flicking her paint brush at him.

Dipper ducked to avoid the flying paint. "Because, they'll think I'm absolutely insane," he said.

He didn't know why he lied to his sister about why he wasn't telling them, and he felt bad about it. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that told him he should have stayed for the rest of Candace's conversation, and he didn't want to listen to it.

He had to find out if those mermaids were actually there, and right now Dipper could only think of one way to do it.

He'd have to go that night.

* * *

**Oh, Dipper. You naïve child. You shouldn't always believe what you read….unless it's in **_**that **_**particular book. **

**Hee hee hee. Yes, I'm evil. Dr. D will be so happy. **

**Review please!**


	9. Make Sure the Pig Doesn't Hear You

**CHAPTER 9- Hey everyone! HAPPY PLATYPUS DAY! (And yes, I updated purely so I could say that)**

**Anyone else seen _Primal Perry_ yet, because I absolutely LOVED it. I wonder if Dr. D will call every hatless platypus (aka Perry) Steven now...whoops, spolier. Well, not really.**

**Anyway, I like being evil. For now. Hee hee hee.**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Just...just...gah. I hate reminding myself. WHY CAN'T THEY CROSSOVER IN REAL LIFE?**

* * *

_He'd have to go that night. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace groaned and flopped into bed, massaging her temples and trying to rid her head of the sound of power drills.

Mabel bounced into the room smiling. Her entire body was covered in splashes of paint, and she resembled a happy rainbow.

The boys had gotten the majority of the tree house platforms up that day, and Mabel and Candace (who reluctantly decided to help, if only to keep an eye on the twins to make sure they didn't wander off) had taken painting duty.

Candace was sure that her hair was pink. She had wanted that pink streak in her hair, but now she wasn't so sure, especially when the rest of her body was the same color.

She slumped into the shower and took a shower that was fast enough to save hot water for Mabel, but long enough to get all the paint off.

As she sat on her bed blow drying her hair, and then started brushing it, Wendy walked in wearing dark yellow pajamas. Candace didn't really think they were her style, until she saw the little skull and cross bones all over them, with hearts thrown in here and there. Not completely punk, but not girly either.

"Hey Candace," Wendy said, plopping down onto the bed next to her and tucking her feet underneath her. "Whatcha doin?"

Candace snickered and put down her hairbrush, trying to brush away the grin from her face. She hadn't talked to Isabella in a while, and she kind of missed that catchphrase.

Wendy looked at her weirdly, then shrugged and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Weird that I'm sleeping over here. I normally try to get out of here as fast as possible."

Candace chuckled and continued with her hair. "Yeah, well you're right next to us. Good luck trying to sleep. Mabel's been giggly since we finished painting twenty minutes ago."

Wendy blinked and did a double take of the clock.

"It's almost ten o'clock. How could you guys see?"

Candace shrugged and set her brush down. "Phineas and Ferb had flood lights rigged up."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Of course they did. Ok, well I'm going to get some shut eye. Night."

Wendy left the room and Candace waved. "Night Wendy!"

Mabel came out from her shower and dried her hair rapidly. The girls barely talked before going to bed. They were both too tired.

Perry came in right before they shut the lights off and hopped up onto the end of Candace's bed, turning around and plopping down before starting to snore lightly.

Mabel turned off the light and the room, and most of the house except for the adults, went silent.

* * *

Waddles woke up groggily and glanced at the clock, squinting through his blurry eyes to see better. The timepiece read three o'clock in the morning on Friday, and Waddles couldn't figure out what had woken him up.

He glanced around, shaking the sleep away, and he heard the bedroom door squeak quietly. His head shot up and the pig looked at the door, but no one was there.

He turned his attention back to the room and jumped to his hooves as quietly as possible. Dipper wasn't in his bed.

The pig snorted softly and trotted over to the door, poking his head out and glancing around, thinking that maybe Dipper had just gone to the bathroom or gone to get a drink.

But the bathroom was dark and Waddles could hear the quiet creak of the stairs.

The pig pushed his way carefully out of the room, glancing back briefly at the sleeping forms of Phineas and Ferb. They'd be fine for now.

Waddles tiptoed (could animals with hooves tiptoe?) down the hallway and stopped at the landing of the stairs.

He slipped gently down the stairs, barely making a sound, and was at the first floor landing in less than 30 seconds. He heard the floorboards squeak in the gift shop and slowly made his way over, poking his head around the corner in time to see Dipper shove something into his backpack.

The boy glanced around furtively, shouldered his bag, and made his way towards the front door, his shoes clutched in his hands.

Waddles followed carefully, and the door shut behind Dipper. Waddles sighed and slid out through the pet door that Stan had gotten Phineas and Ferb to install the other day (at no charge, of course).

He popped out in time to see Dipper slide his second shoe on and start down the road, gripping his bag with one hand.

Not being cautious anymore, Waddles oinked loudly and fairly leapt off the porch, darting after Dipper, who turned and knelt quickly.

Waddles put on the brakes so that he wouldn't run into him and oinked again, softer and with a bit of concern.

Dipper smiled gently in the moonlight. "Shh, Waddles be quiet. I'll be back soon. Go back inside and go back to sleep."

Dipper turned to go and Waddles gripped his sock with his teeth, tugging lightly. Dipper turned back with a frown and yanked his foot out of the pigs grip. "Waddles, go away! I'll be fine, and back soon."

He turned around again and started jogging away, and for a second, Waddles could see the "3" book clutched under his arm.

What Perry had told him earlier about what he and Candace had seen ran through his head, and his eyes widened as his head whipped up, his mouth opening to try to get out a frantic oink before Dipper left.

But the boy was already out of sight.

Waddles frowned and sprinted back to the house, ducking in through the pet door and running up the stairs. He darted onto the second floor landing and ran down the hall, cursing quietly when he saw that Mabel's door was closed.

He screeched to a halt and pawed at the door frantically.

The door next to him opened and Wendy poked her head out, her hair a frizzy ball of red. "Waddles?" she said softly, patting her hair down. "What's wrong, boy?"

Waddles oinked and pawed again at the door. Wendy frowned and turned the doorknob, opening the door. The pig sprinted into the room and practically flew onto Candace's bed, oinking madly.

Perry jumped three feet in the air and whipped around, his hair puffed up and his eyes menacing. When he saw Waddles he calmed down immediately, but Candace shot up in bed and sent the platypus flying onto the floor. She winced.

"Sorry, Perry. Mabel, what is up with your pig?" she asked, watching Waddles turn in frantic circles and paw the bed.

Perry's eyes widened as he understood Waddles, and he chattered before Mabel could respond. _"Dipper left the house, and Waddles thinks he's going after the mermaids."_

Candace felt all the blood drain from her face and she threw off the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and onto the floor.

"Candace? What's wrong?" Wendy asked, shuffling her feet. Mabel looked confused as well, but Candace didn't answer, merely slid on her slippers and pushed past Wendy out the door.

The girls, Perry, and Waddles followed her up to the attic, where she threw open the door to find that Dipper was indeed gone. The sound of the door woke Phineas and Ferb up, and the brothers looked at the empty bed in confusion.

Candace spun to Mabel, who looked stunned. "Where's Dipper?" the twin asked, gesturing at the bed.

"Mabel, tell me now, did Dipper say anything to you about something living in the lake?" Candace asked anxiously.

Phineas and Ferb were at her side in a second, their eyes wide and faces pale.

Mabel frowned. "Well, yeah. He was convinced there were mermaids in the lake."

Candace groaned and fled down the stairs, everyone else following her. She reached the door and pushed everyone out after her, spinning on the pets before they could follow.

"Stay here," she hissed, "and if we're not back in fifteen minutes, wake up the adults."

Perry hesitated. _"Even Stan?"_

Candace nodded. "Yeah. Perry, I think it's come to that."

The pets nodded reluctantly and sat, and Candace ran outside, shutting the door carefully behind her. She ran down the stairs and looked up to find everyone looking at her.

Candace took a deep breath. "We need a boat."

Wendy hesitated. "My dad has two, down at the docks by the lake. He and my brothers took one for their trip, but they left the other."

"Can you operate it?" Candace asked, already striding in that direction. Wendy hurried to catch up to her, nodding. "Yeah. I learned to drive them both practically before I learned to walk. But why?"

Candace winced and started walking faster. "Dipper went to look for mermaids in the lake," she said, starting to breathe heavily.

Wendy frowned and trotted slightly to keep up, leaving the younger kids in the rear. "But…I mean, there aren't actually any there, are there?"

Candace looked at the girl and Wendy's eyes widened. "There are? Well, that's weird, but why are you so freaked out about Dipper going to see them?"

Candace started jogging, the night wind whipping her hair across her face, the moon creating the perfect flashlight.

Leaves crunched under her feet as she ran, and she could hear the sound of the other's running behind her as she sped up even more.

"Candace?" Wendy said, drawing Candace's attention back to the girl. "Why does it matter?"

Candace took a deep breath. "Because," she said, sighing in relief as the lake came into sight, "the mermaids he's looking for are evil, and will most likely kill him."

She heard a sharp intake of breath behind her and Candace spun, jogging backwards. Mabel had stopped, her eyes wide and fearful. Candace waved Wendy and her brothers on and knelt next to Mabel.

"They'll kill him?" the girl choked out.

Candace winced and took her hands gently. "I hate to say it, Mabel, but yes. If we don't get to him first. I promise I will do my best to not let anything happen to your brother. Now come on."

The girl stood and turned to go, but Mabel tugged her back. "Candace?"

Candace looked anxiously over her shoulder at Wendy. "Yes, Mabel?"

Mabel hesitated. "That…that smidgen of possibility?"

It took Candace a minute to understand what she was saying, but slowly she turned back towards the girl in front of her, who was looking up at her with big eyes. Candace sighed.

"It's a whole lot more than a smidgen, Mabel," Candace said softly.

The girl smiled impishly. "I knew it," she muttered.

"Candace!"

Candace turned at the sound of Phineas' voice to see him and Ferb standing on the docks, their arms thrown up helplessly.

Wendy popped her head up from beside one of the boats and ran towards Candace.

"Wendy? What's wrong?"

Wendy shook her head and put her hands on her knees, panting slightly. "The boat. It's gone."

Candace was stunned, and for a moment she couldn't move. "What?"

Wendy looked up, her eyes flashing.

"My family's boat is gone. And I'm pretty sure Dipper took it," she said, holding up a familiar ball cap.

* * *

**Dipper, Dipper, Dipper. You should know better than to steal your crushes boat. That does not get you any popularity points. **

**Bwahahaha. I am loving writing this story and seeing your comments. **

**By the way, this story will most likely be over within 3 or four chapters. Yes, I've run out of time to type, so only the next chapter is ready. **

**And smidgen is a fun word.**

**Review, please!**


	10. Don't Steal Your Crushes Boat

**CHAPTER 10- Wow. I just...wow. I got ten reviews in less than 24 hours. That's what I'm talking about! You people rock!**

**PLEASE READ:**

**Um...the question was posed to me about whether or not I was going to make a sequel to this story...so like, a trilogy that I didn't plan. I have some kind of idea, if you guys would let me know whether or not you want a sequel to this. That would be great! Ahem. Comments:**

**14AmyChan: No, probably not. (:**

**Wii Guy: Yes, Mabel knows. And I guess we'll never find out if pigs can tiptoe. **

**fvcutie0028: Please don't fall! And thank you, I like to think I'm good at cliff hangers...though people probably hate me for them (:**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. As of now...**

**Just read and ignore me...and sorry for any mistakes, I didn't have much time to go over this!**

* * *

"_My family's boat is gone. And I'm pretty sure Dipper took it," she said, holding up a ball cap. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace cursed softly and began pacing. After a few moments, she looked up, her eyes flashing with anger.

"Phineas, Ferb, I need you to hotwire one of the other boats. I know you don't like to do stuff like that, but-"

Phineas and Ferb held up their hands. "We know," Phineas said, already backing towards the docks. "We have to. But we don't have our tools. It'll take a little longer."

Candace shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Which boat can you rig the fastest?"

The boys turned and surveyed the boats and Ferb slowly pointed to a small one on the end. Phineas nodded and gestured to the same boat. "That one. We can get it working in probably five minutes or so."

Candace nodded. "Come on. Everyone onboard."

The group darted onto the boat and Phineas and Ferb disappeared. A moment later, tinkering sounds started up, and Candace poked her head down the hatch where the engine was. Ferb glanced up from his work, his fingers already smeared with grease.

"Would it affect you any if I started moving the boat now?" Candace asked.

Ferb shook his head, his green hair flying. "No. But Candace, are you sure-?"

"Dipper's in trouble," Candace interrupted, "and no secret is worth him getting hurt."

She vanished from the hatch and Ferb turned back to the engine while Phineas glanced over towards the deck. "We have one brave sister," he murmured to his brother.

Ferb smiled and nodded in agreement, and the boys went back to work.

Candace darted back over to Wendy and Mabel and pointed to the helm. "Wendy, I need you to man the wheel if you can."

Wendy frowned and stood slowly. "I can try. But Candace, we're not even moving yet," she protested.

Candace sighed. "I don't care. Dipper's in trouble. Just go hold the wheel and get ready to steer this thing."

Wendy rolled her eyes, but obeyed, gripping the wheel with both hands and looking down at Candace with a 'see, I told you so,' expression.

Candace merely smiled and walked over to the side of the boat, well aware that Mabel and Wendy were staring at her.

She shut her eyes and focused on the wind, the sound the waves made, the strangely calming tinkering sounds of her brother's working, and the water under her.

She held her hands out, eyes still shut, and felt the water slowly start to hold back, struggling to break free. The boat practically lifted into the air as the water fought Candace.

With one swift move, she flung her hands up and the water gratefully responded, shoving the vessel forward.

Wendy yelped and struggled at the wheel, but Candace had one hand out, steering the boat with only the water.

She finally opened her eyes to see both girls staring at her, and she had to focus even more to keep the water moving. The wind whipped at the girls' hair, and that was the only sound you could hear over the waves.

A powerful humming started under their feet and Phineas and Ferb appeared from the hatch, grinning and wiping their hands on a rag.

"We got the motor running," Phineas said, giving his brother a high five.

He glanced around the deck and finally noticed the way Candace's hands were held, the looks on Mabel and Wendy's faces, and the ferocious water pushing at the boat. His smile turned to concern. "Oh. Um…"

"No time," Candace said, kicking her slippers under a bench. She released the water and Wendy re-gripped the wheel to keep the boat steady as the engine of the boat took over. "Wendy, aim for that rock formation over there," she said, pointing towards where she knew the mermaid enclosure was.

Wendy nodded and pulled the wheel in that direction.

Candace slowly got up on the railing and balanced, one hand holding firmly to the cold metal. "Candace, are you crazy?" Wendy called. "The water's freezing, and you yourself told us those mermaids are killers!"

Candace grinned nervously, and saw Phineas and Ferb watching her, their eyebrows creased in worry. "Guys, I'll be fine," she whispered.

Phineas gulped and nodded. "O…ok, Candace. We trust you. But be careful, ok?"

Candace nodded and glanced at Mabel. The girl was smiling grimly. "Candace, if you can't…I mean, if you can't rescue Dipper…um, please, don't stay down there. Please," the girl pleaded softly.

Candace winced, feeling tears in her eyes. "Ok. But Mabel, you know I'm going to try my best."

Mabel nodded and backed away slowly from the railing. Phineas and Ferb walked over to her and each of the boy's gently wrapped an arm around her, nodding to their sister.

Candace let go of the railing and stood up straight, using all the years of gymnastics training (and a bit of on the side training from Perry) to stay balanced.

"You're nuts!" Wendy yelled.

Candace grinned and flung her arms up, not wanting to waste time.

A huge wall of water hit her in the face and Candace came up shivering and amazingly still on the railing. Phineas snorted and Candace glanced back, her legs tingling.

"You just had to be dramatic," the boy commented.

Candace grinned, crouched, and said, "Yes, yes I did."

With that, she leapt into the air, her tail forming mid-leap, and before she hit the water, she had a huge wave push her forwards.

All anyone on the boat could do was stare after her, Phineas and Ferb in worry, and Wendy and Mabel in shock.

Wendy forgot all about the steering wheel and started stammering. "Your…your….Candace is…she's a…."

"Mermaid?" Phineas supplied, glancing over at Wendy. "Yeah, we know. I also know that boats can't steer themselves," he said pointedly.

Wendy lunged for the wheel and set them back on course, her eyes still wide. "But…but how?"

Without letting them answer she slapped her forehead. "She really did meet those mermaids, then. So…so they _will _kill…oh my god," she whispered, her hands gripping the wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Mabel shivered under Phineas and Ferb's arms and the boy's faced her in worry. "She can get Dipper, right guys?"

Phineas looked over at Ferb. "I sure hope so Mabel."

* * *

Candace couldn't go any faster, and she was starting to get tired from holding the water up for so long. She could see the mermaid habitat area though, and, wishing she had Ferb's mathematical skills, she judged the distance.

Ferb must have been rubbing off, because Candace threw herself out of the water and landed perfectly in the center of the pool.

* * *

FIFTEEN MINUTES EARLIER

* * *

Dipper felt guilty about taking Wendy's boat, but it was the only one he could operate that wasn't a row boat, and he knew the ignition keys were hidden inside of a cushion.

Now, as he motored out towards the mermaid pool, he felt bad about taking a scuba kit from the Mystery Shack, too.

He found the pool easily, thanks to Candace's description and his own scouring of a map while he waited for the house to be silent.

He silently slipped into the scuba gear, grateful that he had done it a few times before during one of his crazy summer camps.

Dipper dropped the anchor into the water and jumped in carefully. He slipped the goggles down over his eyes and swam over to the rock wall, which was right where Candace had said it was.

Using his hands, he pushed himself over and let himself sink into the water.

It wasn't until he had gotten this far that he started to get nervous about what he was doing, and what the book had said. But he shook it off. He had gotten this far, he was going to finish it.

Dipper reached up and flicked on his underwater light on top of his head.

He swung the beam around, letting the light slice through the water as he looked around in curiosity.

The light illuminated something at the bottom of the pool, and Dipper frowned and flipped over, kicking his way towards the bottom.

The flippers he was wearing had just brushed the bottom when he comprehended what he was seeing.

_Bones. _

Dipper gulped slowly and turned around, praying that these weren't-

His mental train of thought vanished as he spotted the skull (the same one Candace had seen, in fact).

Dipper forced himself not to puke, and he glanced around slowly. He didn't see anything at the moment, but his light did swing around and land on the oxygen gauge, and the boy mentally cursed Stan, because he only had five minutes of air left.

Dipper kicked his feet and started moving towards the surface as quickly as he could, his heart starting to pound.

Why, oh why hadn't he listened to his book, or the rest of what Candace had said?

Dipper mentally groaned yet again as his head light started flickering. Of course, it would be low on batteries. Stan couldn't sell anything with good quality, could he?

He kicked again, but this time his foot was grasped tightly.

Dipper yanked, hard, but to no avail. His foot was stuck.

_Hmm. Adolescent, but still one of them, _said a creepy voice in his head.

Dipper let out a mental scream and tried to spin around to see just what was grabbing him, though he had a terrible feeling in his gut. He only got halfway around, but his light made the cavern brighter, and he spotted over two dozen….mermaids.

Completely surrounding him, all of them with crazy sharp looking teeth.

Dipper looked down and struggled harder, cursing himself quietly.

A creepy, green haired mermaid had him by the foot, her nails digging deep into his skin.

_Do you know what we do to trespassing humans, kid? _

Dipper swallowed and looked anxiously at his oxygen gauge. 3 minutes.

_Um, let us go with a stern warning? _he thought, hoping that that was actually how they communicated underwater.

An evil laugh rang through his head and Dipper's stomach rolled as the mermaid yanked him down so that they were face to face.

_No. Be prepared to never see the surface again, _the mermaid cackled into his mind as she slammed him into the rock wall.

Dipper's head smacked up against it and his vision went fuzzy for a minute. It rang back into sharp focus, though, as the mermaids ripped his breathing apparatus off.

He got in one deep breath of oxygen before the device fell to the bottom of the pool. The mermaids turned back on him and Dipper almost lost his breath as the one with green hair and shark teeth raked her nails down his stomach, creating tiny rivulets of blood down his skin.

All his breath burst free as another swam up and smacked his scalp into the wall, punching him in the stomach at the same time. Dipper felt his dinner try to force its way up, but he held it back, his lungs aching and his vision going fuzzy again, this time from lack of oxygen.

One with pink hair reached her nails up to his face, and Dipper felt like his head was going to explode, but before anything could happen, something landed in the middle of the pool and smacked away the green and pink haired mermaids.

_You leave my relative alone! _came a familiar voice in his head.

Dipper barely had time to think Candace's name before he blacked out.

* * *

**I feel very evil….Sorry for hurting Dipper, guys. I feel bad about it, but it had to happen. **

**So yeah, think about that sequel...**

**This is a great chapter to write while listening to crazy awesome music. I loved it, despite the injuries that have (and are about to) happen. Gasp, did I just give something away?**

**Eh, probably not.**

**Review please!**


	11. I Have No Idea What to Name This Chapter

**CHAPTER 11- I'm BACK.**

**So...you want me to do a sequel to this? That's what I'm hearing/reading?**

**Elizabeth: I won't be making a Phineas and Ferb and RC9GN crossover anytime soon. Sorry!**

**Wii Guy: Nice alliteration**

**fvcutie0028: Thanks for your input!**

**Nehamee: Thanks!**

**BigTimeGleekBTR: Thanks for your input as well!**

**I don't own PF or GF. Sorry for any mistakes...I get the feeling I'll be crazy busy after this, so sorry if I don't update! Bwahahaha...or am I just leaving you?**

* * *

_Dipper barely had time to think Candace's name before he blacked out. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace grabbed Dipper under the arms with one hand and threw him upwards, using her other hand to shoot water up and under him so that he flew out of the water and landed on the other side of the rock wall, where Phineas, Ferb, Mabel, and Wendy were waiting with the boat.

Mabel shrieked as her brother came out of nowhere and Phineas and Ferb dove into the water and swam over before the unconscious boy could sink under again.

They hoisted him up under the arms and kicked back over to the boat, where Mabel lowered a small life raft down to them.

Phineas climbed in and helped Ferb pull Dipper up, laying him out on the bottom of the boat. Ferb hopped into the boat alongside Phineas and Mabel and Wendy pulled the life boat up to the deck of their borrowed boat.

Mabel helped Phineas and Ferb pull her brother out of the life boat and she gasped when she spotted the blood on his chest.

His head flopped to the side on the deck and his hair moved, revealing large cuts on his head. "Wendy, get me the first aid kit!" Mabel barked.

Wendy darted away and came back a few moments later, the kit clutched in her hands. Mabel sprung the lid and pulled out some rubbing alcohol and a few gauze pads, tossing the tape to Phineas. "I'm going to put the alcohol and gauze on, and then I need you to tape it up."

Phineas nodded and Mabel dried Dipper's chest with a towel before pouring the alcohol. The boy jerked slightly in his unconscious state, but he didn't wake up.

A few moments later Dipper's chest was bandaged and Ferb had found a dry shirt in one of the boxes on deck. The boys managed to slip it on and Mabel went to work on the cuts in her brother's hair.

When she finished, she glanced up and capped the alcohol, her eyes worried. "Did Candace come up yet?" she asked.

Phineas and Ferb looked at each other and slowly shook their heads. "No," Phineas whispered, "no she hasn't."

* * *

Candace shrieked, sending bubbles to the surface, as she was thrown against the wall yet again. Her head bashed up against it and she groaned, rubbing her bleeding scalp.

She looked up, eyes flashing, and flung her arm out. Ripples of water flung the mermaids back and gave Candace a second to rest and try to get away.

She only made it a few feet before sharp nails dug into the bottom of her tail, yanking at her flippers.

Candace let out a shriek and spun, her anger moving the water. Tears flew to her eyes as the pain grew, and she thrust her hands out, pushing the mermaids back and at the same time pushing herself up.

Amazingly, her shoulder blades hit the wall rather than her head, and when she looked up, she could clearly see the moon.

Candace spun around and reached her arms up, straining for the edge of the wall. Another set of hands gripped her tail, where the nails had ripped her flipper, and Candace gasped in agony, flinging a hand down and pushing the mermaid off.

Her fingertips touched the top of the wall and Candace grabbed it with all her might.

She threw her hand down one more time, just to make sure the mermaids weren't on her tail, quite literally, and then she pulled her head above water, gasping as the cool night air smacked her in her bruised and cut face.

Candace managed to get halfway onto the top of the wall before hands started grabbing at her tail again, almost pulling her back under. She clenched her fingers onto the wall solidly, feeling like her body was being ripped in half.

"Phineas! Ferb!" she shrieked.

Her brothers' heads appeared at the railing of the boat, and they took in Candace's tear stained face and tattered body in a split second.

Candace's palms were burning from being scraped against the rocks, but she knew that if she let go she probably wouldn't make it back to the surface.

Nails dug hard into every inch of her tail, and something long and sharp, probably a rock, ran down the side. Candace shrieked, her yell piercing the night air.

Her vision went fuzzy and Candace vaguely registered something landing in front of her. A life preserver…that's what it was.

Candace anxiously reached a hand out and grabbed it, slinging her arms through the hole in the middle.

Almost immediately, the boat's motor roared to life and the life preserver was almost yanked out of Candace's hands. She held on tightly though, and was pulled along after the boat.

The mermaids, who couldn't cross the rock wall, screamed in agony and vanished under the water, leaving Candace in relief and letting her half black out, her subconscious keeping her holding onto the life preserver.

Phineas turned to Wendy anxiously. "Can't this thing go any faster?" he asked in worry for his sister.

Wendy shook her head. "Not without Candace…helping, no. I'm going as fast as I can, Phineas. We'll be at the docks in at least five minutes. Just hang tight."

"I'm more worried about whether Candace can hang tight," Phineas muttered, glancing back over the water at where his sister's limp form was clutching to the life preserver Ferb had thrown to her using his amazing marksman skills.

Ferb put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "She'll be ok," the boy whispered, his British accent soothing Phineas a little. "She's strong, Phin."

Phineas nodded. "I know. But Ferb, we don't know how badly she's hurt. I mean, Dipper's pretty beat up, but Candace was down there for over ten minutes."

Ferb winced and glanced back at Dipper, who was still out cold on the floor. Mabel was crouched over him, but she was looking at Phineas and Ferb in worry.

She stood up and walked over to them, giving them both a side hug. "Hey, come on, this is Candace. I mean, didn't you tell me she fell down a mountain and was fine?"

Phineas hesitated. "Well, yeah, but mountains don't want to kill you."

Mabel didn't know how to respond to that, so she quietly walked over to where Wendy was manning the wheel and stood there for a moment, scanning the dark water.

"Does this….does this freak you out at all?" Wendy asked, keeping her eyes on the rapidly growing docks.

"What?" Mabel asked, glancing over at the teen.

"Candace being a mermaid and all."

Mabel paused and glanced down at where Candace was. "No. Not really. I guess I've seen weirder. And I'm worried about her too."

Wendy nodded. "I know. I'm worried about her too. But it startled me a little. I can't imagine how Dipper's going to react when he wakes up."

Mabel winced. "I hope he won't be scared of Candace."

Wendy looked at the girl in confusion. "Why would he-? Oh. You mean because he was attacked by mermaids. I can see how you would think that. Hopefully he'll realize that Candace helped him."

Mabel sighed and started back down towards where her brother lay. "I hope so too. How much longer?"

Wendy paused. "A minute or so. I'm going to start slowing down. Tell Phineas and Ferb to leave Candace in the water for the moment, just in case."

Mabel glanced back. "Just in case what?"

Wendy shivered and didn't answer, which worried Mabel greatly. But the girl complied and knelt once more next to her brother while Phineas and Ferb got ready to dock the boat.

Phineas squinted into the distance and blinked. "Is that…Mom, Dad, and Stan?" he asked, pointing to the docks.

Mabel leaned out against the railing and nodded. "Yeah, that's definitely them. Looks like Waddles and Perry are there too."

Phineas winced. "Maybe we shouldn't let them see Candace and Dipper like this."

Mabel put a hand on her relatives shoulder. "Phineas, they were going to see them eventually."

Phineas nodded and turned to Ferb. "Ferb, can you row out to Candace and get her at least draped over the boat, try to assess some of her injuries? I'm going to help Mabel with Dipper."

Ferb nodded and pulled on a light jacket he had found, and then threw a life vest on over that. Phineas and Mabel helped him into the boat, and then they lowered it to the water.

Ferb pulled out the oars and moved carefully over to his sister, who was apparently awake, because she looked up as he approached. "Ferb?" she whispered in confusion.

Ferb put a finger to his lips and put the oars onto the bottom of the boat. Standing, he got his arms under Candace's elbows, but the boat rocked too much for him to pull her in.

A second later, the boat stopped moving and Ferb glanced down to see Candace's hand spread flat, her face struggling to concentrate.

Ferb pulled as hard as he could and got Candace half in the boat, most of her tail still in the cold water. Candace let her hand relax.

"Are you ok?" Ferb asked softly, pulling a flashlight from his pajama pocket and flicking it on.

Candace winced in the sharp light and Ferb's breath hitched in his throat as he took in the sight of his sister's injuries.

Her face was scraped and bruised, her hair was matted with blood, and her arms and torso were scraped and bleeding.

Ferb didn't even want to look at her tail but he leaned over the boat and shined the light on the orange scales.

He felt like puking when he saw the injuries. There was a huge cut running practically from her waist to the end of the tail, bleeding heavily. The entire tail was covered in cuts, and as Ferb shined the light down at the flippers, he prayed that Candace hadn't seen it yet.

The flippers were by far the worst. The left one was ok, as far as the Brit could see, but the right one had an enormous tear in it that was jagged and looked like it killed.

He flicked the light off and picked up the oars, starting to row silently to shore.

"That bad, huh?" Candace asked, her voice strained.

Ferb looked down at his sister and found that he couldn't lie to her. "Yes," he said softly, "it's pretty bad."

He saw Candace wince and look away and Ferb let go of an oar for a second, reaching down and squeezing her hand reassuringly. Candace squeezed back, and then Ferb resumed rowing, keeping an even pace with the boat.

He pulled easily to shore while Wendy struggled to dock the unfamiliar vessel in the proper space.

Ferb helped Candace off the edge of the boat and laid her carefully in the sand, keeping the bottom half of her tail in the lapping water. He glanced over to see that Wendy had docked the boat as best she could and was now carrying Dipper down, Phineas and Mabel being too small to carry him.

Linda, Lawrence, and Stan were all standing at a distance, but as Wendy walked over and put Dipper in the sand near Candace and Ferb, the adults started over quickly.

Stan, surprisingly, reached them first, and it looked to the kids like he had been crying, which surprised everyone, but especially Mabel.

She knew Stan thought fondly of them, but he always seemed so cold and uncaring. But now, as he scooped her up into a tight hug, he seemed like a different man.

Stan put Mabel down and knelt in the sand next to Dipper, putting a gentle hand on his forehead and studying his injuries.

He looked up and his eyes landed on Candace, taking in her tail first, and then her injuries, worse than Dipper's. His eyes hardened and he looked up at Linda and Lawrence as they released Phineas from his hug.

"I think you all have got some explaining to do," Stan said, scowling.

Candace winced and glanced down, rubbing her hand gently over the giant bleeding cut on her stomach. Stan's eyes softened and he glanced at Wendy. "First aid kit. Now."

Wendy pulled the kit from the bag she had slung over her shoulder before leaving the boat, and she handed it to Stan, who moved and knelt over Candace.

Candace gulped slightly and glanced up at the man as he carefully, tenderly almost, dabbed rubbing alcohol on her cuts.

Stan met her eyes and gave a small smile. "Whatever you did for Dipper, kid….thanks."

* * *

**Stan is going to be really out of character...mostly. but I need him to be. Cause...well, you'll see.**

**And yeah, Candace's injuries are pretty bad...but she'll get better. Right? Oh yeah. I'm the author...I should know this...uh..**

**Ahem. So...**

**Review?**

**Sorry I'm getting it up so quickly! I could slow down, if you want...**


	12. Sew What?

**CHAPTER 12- Ok. Before I say anything else, please don't shoot me at the end of this chapter. You'll see why…..**

**Ok! Commenting on my reviews!**

**Living Encyclopedia: Um…..no giant pink bunnies, but that's a very entertaining thought. **

**Fvcutie0028: Have you considered switching to decaf?**

**Becca: The story is DEFINITELY not done yet. *evil smile* Bwahahahaha.**

**Ahem. I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Bowling for Soup freaking rocks. I have Perry the Platypus slippers. Research papers annoy me. Now that I've stated the obvious…**

**Read on!**

* * *

_Stan met her eyes and gave a small smile. "Whatever you did for Dipper, kid….thanks." _

* * *

DIPPER'S POV

* * *

I could hear the adults talking, and for a second I thought I was back home in the Mystery Shack, sleeping in the living room.

And then the searing agony of my injuries hit me like a rogue gnome, and believe me, I know what that feels like.

I sat straight up, sand falling from my hair, and my first thought was, _Where the heck is my hat?_

I didn't have a second thought, because Mabel tackled me in a hug, squeezing the air out of me. "Dipper! Oh my gosh, you're ok!"

She pulled away and as I took in the tear stains on her cheeks I realized that I had really scared her. I hated doing that to her. I pulled Mabel back into a hug and whispered into her ear, "Of course I'm ok, silly."

Mabel sniffed and sat back on her heel, brushing at a tear. "I know. But when Candace got you out of there, you were-"

I tuned Mabel out and frowned slightly. Candace. Something….she had dove into the mermaid pool to save me….and I was almost unconscious, but there was something that I couldn't…I couldn't remember. What-?

I glanced up and my eyes landed on the girl in question.

She was squeezing Linda's hand tightly and biting her lip hard enough to draw blood-at least, that's what I thought until I realized that there were bleeding cuts all over her face, and some on her scalp too.

Phineas and Ferb were behind her, each of them rubbing one of her shoulders, and I glanced down towards her legs….or, where her legs should have been.

My breath caught and all I could do was stare. Grunkle Stan and Lawrence were each holding a bottle of rubbing alcohol and kneeling in the wet sand, pouring the alcohol over a long orange tail that was sliced up really badly.

I followed the tail up and it led to Candace's torso.

I couldn't help it. I stumbled back with a small yelp. Candace's head whipped up, and all I could see in her eyes was fear and worry.

"Dipper?" Wendy said softly, her eyes filled with concern.

Did no one care that Candace was a mermaid, or was it just me?

As I took in the neutral faces around me, I realized that yeah, apparently it was just me.

Slowly I gulped and tried to calm my trembling hands. "I…I…sorry, I just…I didn't..."

Candace gave me a grim smile and winced as Grunkle Stan patted the cloth against a particularly nasty cut. "It's ok, Dipper. I know it's kind of a shocker."

I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away, feeling very dizzy all of a sudden. I tucked my head gently between my knees and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves.

_Calm down, Dipper, _I thought to myself, counting silently to 100, something I did when I was stressed. _It's not like Candace is suddenly going to attack you and try to rip you to pieces. She saved you, for Pete's sake. She's no different than before, she just….just has a tail. Yeah. That's it. _

I removed my head and glanced around.

Everyone had gone back to Candace except Mabel, who was merely watching everyone else. It gave me the chance to really study everyone.

Phineas, Ferb, and their parents obviously had known about Candace. But…based on the looks on their faces, I figured that Phineas and Ferb had probably known about Candace for longer.

I looked at Mabel and Wendy carefully, and even though they obviously hadn't known long, they seemed to have gotten over it for the most part.

Grunkle Stan still seemed stunned, but by the way he was tenderly dabbing on the alcohol, I could tell that he was only worried about her injuries.

I glanced down and finally realized that I wasn't wearing my own t-shirt. I raised the hem of the one I was wearing and winced when I spotted the gauze encircling my waist.

I rubbed my stomach lightly and looked back over at Candace, who was struggling to keep back tears while she practically tore off her mother's hand.

Her dad and Stan were….god. I almost puked when I saw them literally stitching her right flipper back together. That could not feel good.

My eyes welled up with tears as I realized just how much Candace had gone through to protect me, and how badly I had just reacted to her being a mermaid.

I wanted to slap myself, but I suspected that it would hurt. God, I was such a dolt for being so insensitive!

Mentally kicking myself, I decided that I needed some space. I stood up and trudged back in the direction of the Mystery Shack, glancing down briefly when I realized that Waddles was following me.

I'm not really sure that anyone noticed.

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace finally let her shoulders relaxed as her father capped the alcohol and Stan got rid of the needle. God, that had sucked. Note to self: never let your father and crazy great-great uncle (or whatever Stan was to her) stitch up your fin after being attacked by evil mermaids.

Candace glanced around and frowned slightly. "Where's Dipper?"

Mabel looked up and blinked. "Yeah, and Waddles?"

Perry gave a soft chatter and moved away from Candace's side, where he had silently been sitting for the past fifteen minutes. _"Dipper went home, and Waddles went with him to keep an eye on him."_

Phineas shook his head and stood, dusting off his knees. "No idea. Maybe he went back to the Mystery Shack?"

Candace nodded. "Probably."

Linda stood and offered a hand to Ferb, who took it and stood up. "Well," said her mother, "we should probably get back so that you can rest, and so that we can check out Dipper's injuries."

Mabel frowned and Linda gave a small smile. "Not that you didn't do a wonderful job on your own, Mabel honey. We just want to double check them, and maybe call Dr. Hirano," she said, referring to Stacy's mother, who was a nurse and knew about Candace.

Candace nodded and shivered slightly.

Wendy came up a moment later from going back and getting her family's boat from the water. She handed Candace a blanket and smiled. "I kind of thought you'd be cold," she said.

Candace smiled at Wendy and wrapped the blanket around her damp shoulders. "So…how are we getting home?" the girl asked.

"Eh, I drove us down here in my old rust bucket," said Stan, jutting a thumb over his shoulder as he stood up. "I'll just take you back."

Wendy frowned. "But Mr. Pines, Candace needs to stretch out. We'll only be able to fit one other person in the car."

Linda gently pushed Mabel forwards. "Take Mabel with you. Lawrence, Wendy, the boys and I will walk back."

Stan frowned. "You sure?"

Lawrence nodded. "Absolutely. Here, I'll take Candace to the car and-"

"Nah, I got it," said Stan, easily leaning over and gathering Candace into his arms. Mabel's jaw dropped.

"Oh, come on! You can lift a teen mermaid but you can't help me reach a book on the top shelf?" she cried.

Stan grunted. "That's different kid."

He started back to the car with Mabel tagging after him, demanding how it was different, exactly.

Linda raised an eyebrow. "They're an odd family, aren't they?" she mused as she ushered Phineas and Ferb ahead of her.

Wendy laughed and pulled out a flashlight. "Watch what you say, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher. You're related to them."

* * *

Candace winced slightly as Stan put her down gently in the backseat. "You good?" he asked, holding onto the car door.

The girl nodded slowly. "Stan, I…I don't know how to-"

"Ah-bup-bup!" Stan said, holding up a hand. "I don't do gratitude, kid."

He started to close the door, and then paused. "But you're welcome."

He climbed into the driver's seat and Mabel slid into the passenger's side. Stan had barely gone around the corner when Candace's tail shifted back to her legs, causing a heck of a lot of pain.

Candace managed to muffle her yelps and she started shaking as she stared down at her legs. They were covered in cuts and bruises, yes, and they hurt, but her right foot….

Candace trembled violently. "Stan, please stop the car," she whispered.

Stan immediately stopped and Candace wrenched open the door, puking her guts out onto the ground below until her stomach emptied of anything that had been left in it.

She sat back up slowly and shut the door again, wiping her mouth with her blanket and trying to keep her tears back.

It was at that point that she noticed that Mabel had climbed into the back with her and was rubbing her back gently, sitting carefully on the floor. Stan looked at Candace nervously in the rearview mirror. "You ok, Candace?"

Candace shuddered and threw the blanket out the window. "I…I think so. Keep driving, please."

Stan nodded and put his foot to the gas again, and the car started moving once more.

Candace sank down in her seat and started shaking, crying silently. Mabel wrapped her arms around the girl tightly and murmured gently in her ear.

Stan pulled up to the Mystery Shack a few minutes later and parked the car. He got out and opened the door, gently pulling Mabel out and setting her on the ground. "Go find your brother," he said softly.

Mabel hesitated, and then ran off, glancing back over her shoulder a few times.

Stan turned back to Candace and pulled her into his arms carefully. "I'm getting too old for this," he muttered playfully as he kicked the door shut with his foot.

Candace let out a small sound and Stan walked inside and set her gently on the couch, squatting on the floor next to her and brushing his thumb across the tears on her cheeks. "Hey, kid, you're gonna make me soft hearted, you know that?"

Candace allowed him a small smile and Stan sighed. "Kid, it's not like you lost a leg or something."

Candace shivered and reached up to the top of the couch, groping for the folded blanket she knew was supposed to be there.

Stan found it for her and held it just out of her reach. "Come on kid, you've got to talk to me. Please."

Candace gulped back her tears. "I…I just…I didn't think my injuries were…were that bad."

Stan smiled sympathetically. "I know kid. But you did it for a great cause, you know that?"

Candace shivered again, tears streaking down her cheeks. Stan sighed and kissed her on the forehead. "Look, I can't promise you it will be better, because I don't know that. But I do know that this place is crazy full of weird things. We'll figure it out."

Candace nodded. "I know, Stan. But…can I have the blanket now? Mom and Dad have gone through enough for the moment."

Stan hesitated, and then handed over the cloth. He stood and walked to the door. "Holler if ya need me. I'll be in my office figuring out how to scam people," he said, trying to ease the tension in Candace's face.

It worked a little, as the girl gave a tiny smile. "Do you have some aspirin or something?" she asked, unfolding the blanket.

Stan nodded. "Yeah. I'll be right back."

The man left the room and Candace shook out the blanket, wincing as the pain in her legs flared up almost everywhere.

She gently covered up her legs, trying to ignore the phantom pain from her missing right pinky toe.

* * *

**You're…..you're going to kill me now, aren't you?**

**Just….don't blow up the review box please. People need it. **

**Meep. I'm going to go hide…..**


	13. Late Night Reading

**CHAPTER 13- So….apparently I'm still alive, since I typed this….although I typed it before I even put up the last chapter….but who got the password for my account? Huh. I must be alive then! Yay! I like life….**

**Haha, no I'm just kidding. I'm impressed that so many of you realized that it was actually logical for Candace to be hurt when she turned back into a human. I was originally going to make her lose her whole right foot, but I figured that her losing her toe was easier for when- whoops! Almost slipped up! Ahem. Comments: **

**Reid Phantom: Um…thanks. I think ;)**

**Elizabeth: Stop asking so many questions and just read. Many of them will be answered. **

**AquaThePheonix: Yes, I do have Perry slippers. They make me happy (:**

**TheLPSDragon: Sorry about me killing your weak stomach!**

**Wii Guy: Haha, very punny.**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Joy. Just read. **

* * *

_She gently covered up her legs, trying to ignore the phantom pain from her missing right pinky toe. _

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Dipper looked up from his perch on the roof as the hatch opened up and Mabel climbed out. The boy sighed and put his chin back on his knees as his twin slid down the roof and sat next to him.

They stayed silent for a while until Mabel spoke. "What are you doing up here, Dipper?"

Dipper glanced sideways at his sister. "Sitting."

Mabel raised an eyebrow. "You know that's not what I mean, silly. Candace scared you, didn't she?"

Dipper winced and looked down. "I…I want to say no….but at first, yes, she did. I don't want to be…I know it's stupid."

Mabel scooted over and hugged her brother. "It's not stupid. You had just been attacked by a bunch of murderous mermaids. I would've been scared too."

Dipper smiled thinly. "Yeah, but the way I reacted…Mabel, she's going to hate me!"

Mabel chuckled softly. "She doesn't hate you Dipper."

"How do you know? And why won't she come talk to me if she doesn't?" Dipper asked.

Mabel bit her lip and looked away. "Dipper, for one thing, she was really beat up by those mermaids. For another…I don't know how much climbing she's going to be doing for a while."

Dipper looked at Mabel in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Mabel glanced down again and shivered slightly, and not because she was cold. "Those…those mermaids. They did a lot of damage." She glanced up and met her brother's eyes. "Do you remember seeing her flipper?"

Dipper winced. "You mean, like how it was all torn? Yeah, why?"

Mabel gulped. "I guess that stuff transfers over to her legs no matter what…and Grunkle Stan isn't a professional surgeon."

Dipper was getting worried. "Mabel? What are you getting at?"

Mabel took a breath. "Candace….her pinky toe isn't…I mean…it's gone. Like just…absolutely vanished."

Dipper's face paled. "It's…gone? Like, bleeding, ripped off, or….just…gone?"

Mabel sighed. "Gone. There's a really…a really big cut, but it's not bleeding or anything, at least, not too badly, probably because of the stitches. But it's gone."

Dipper gulped and reached towards his chest, before realizing that he was wearing a shirt that wasn't his. He jumped up, wobbling slightly, and Mabel grabbed his arm. "Dipper, what are you doing?"

Dipper gulped and started towards the hatch that led into the house. "I need to find my book," he said, his voice cracking a little more than usual. "It was with my stuff on the boat."

His hands flew to his head and he almost fell down the roof. "And where the heck is my hat?"

Mabel placed a hand on his back so he wouldn't fall. "Wendy picked it up. But why-?"

Dipper scrambled down the ladder and jumped into the Mystery Shack just as the front door opened. Wendy, Phineas, Ferb, and their parents walked in.

Mabel jumped down next to Dipper and gave him a small smile. "I'm going to check on Candace. Don't mention anything about…you know. Just in case."

Dipper stared after his sister as she walked out of the room. Since when was she so intuitive and sensitive? He felt like he didn't even know her.

A hand plunked down gently on his head and he turned around to find Wendy smiling at him, his hat now on his hat. He grinned. "Thanks, Wendy. You didn't by chance-?"

Wendy reached into the bag she had and pulled out his book with a smirk. "One step ahead of you, Dipper. You ok?"

Dipper gave a small nod and clutched his book to his chest. "I've been better…and I'm really tired."

Wendy nodded. "Well, it is two thirty in the morning. You should get some sleep."

Dipper nodded. "Yeah…thanks, Wendy."

Wendy rubbed his head fondly. "I'm just glad you're ok, man."

She walked away and Dipper darted up to his room, Waddles on his heels. That pig was everywhere.

Dipper flopped into bed, wincing at the pain in his chest, and flipped open his book to the very first page. Waddles hopped up next to him and oinked curiously.

Dipper sighed. "It's my fault Candace got hurt, Waddles. And I need to fix it."

* * *

Linda and Lawrence each kissed Candace on the forehead and went back to bed. Phineas had already gone upstairs to keep an eye on Dipper, and now only Mabel and Ferb were left sitting in the room with her.

"You guys should get some sleep," Candace said softly.

Mabel hesitated, then nodded and left the room. "Night, Candace and Ferb," she called over her shoulder.

Perry trotted sleepily into the room and flopped immediately onto the floor at Ferb's feet. The boy leaned over and stroked his pet, his intense eyes never leaving Candace.

"You're leaving something out," he finally said.

Candace hesitated. "What do you mean?"

Perry cracked an eye open and looked at her curiously. Ferb crossed his arms and walked over to his sister in concern. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Candace, I know when something's wrong. Call it intuition, or sibling instinct, but you're hiding something."

Candace looked down, her eyes wandering to her legs, and Ferb followed her gaze. He frowned and tilted his head, pondering.

"Something happened, didn't it? Because of what happened to your flipper," he said softly.

Candace glanced up and Ferb knew he'd hit the nail on the head. He swept his hand down at the blanket and Candace sighed, reaching down and tugging it up so that her legs were still covered (she was admittedly a little cold) but her feet were showing.

Ferb grimaced and his face paled. He knelt next to Candace's feet and winced, looking up, his eyes full of sympathetic pain. "Does it hurt?" he whispered.

Candace gave a small shrug and covered her feet back up. "Sort of. Yes. But it's more of like…a phantom pain. You can tell Phineas, ok, but please don't mention this to Mom and Dad. I want them to sleep for the rest of the night."

Ferb nodded, hugged his sister tightly, and went to bed without another word.

Perry stood up wearily and pulled back the covers at Candace's feet, his eyes flashing dangerously. _"I might kill some mermaids," _the platypus chattered, clenching his fists.

Candace winced and held out her arms. Perry automatically hopped into them and hugged Candace. "Please don't Perry. They almost killed me, and I'm much bigger than you. Even with your agent training…"

Perry nodded and curled up on Candace's stomach. Candace paused and cocked her head. "You're not going to stay there all night, are you?"

Perry opened one eye. _"Probably not, but I'm staying for now."_

Candace chuckled and sank down into the couch, nestling her head on the couch cushions and falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

She woke up a little while later and squinted around. Perry was no longer on her stomach, and Candace searched the room for the platypus.

He was curled up in an easy chair, snoring gently and chattering every time he exhaled. Candace smiled and took a look at her phone, which someone had put next to her on the side table. The digital display said that it was almost 4 am.

And Candace really had to pee.

The girl hesitated and pushed herself into a sitting position. She really didn't want to wake Perry up, but she wasn't sure she could get to the bathroom, despite it being like ten feet away.

Candace gulped and pulled her covers off. She swung her legs over the side of the couch and almost screamed at the flare of pain that went through them.

Candace gulped back tears and grabbed on to the arm of the couch tightly before slowly standing up, putting all of her weight on her left foot.

The girl almost crumpled to the ground screaming but she had to do this. If not just to use the bathroom, then to prove to herself that she would be ok.

Candace breathed heavily and slowly hobbled her way over to the bathroom, grateful for the small light that had been left on by the door. She finally made it to the door and grabbed it, almost falling flat on her face as it swung inwards.

A strong arm caught her bicep and Candace almost screamed (again). She hobbled around and looked up at Grunkle Stan, gently putting a hand over her pounding heart. "Geez, Stan, you scared the crap out of me," she whispered.

Stan looked at her in worry. "Why on earth didn't you call for someone to help you to the bathroom?" he asked softly.

Candace winced and glanced down, staring at her throbbing foot. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own."

Stan gave her a small smile. "Kid, you can't do everything by yourself, especially after just losing your…ahem, do you want me to wait here?"

Candace gave him a grateful smile. "Yeah. Thanks."

She went to the bathroom rather slowly, but when she finally came out, Stan was still there. "I don't think I'm going to get much sleep right now," Candace said. "Can you help me to the kitchen?"

The man nodded, and, rather than letting Candace walk, he scooped her off her feet and walked her into the kitchen, setting her down gently on one side of the benches.

Candace glanced around, taking in the half eaten sandwich on the table, the cold mug of coffee, and the reading glasses perched on top of a book. She looked up as Stan sat down.

"Have you gotten any sleep?" she asked, gesturing to the stuff on the table.

Stan gave a sheepish smile and shook his head. "No. I stayed up to keep an eye on you, and catch up on my reading."

Candace looked at the book and blinked, squinting closer at what it was about. "Oh. You were, uh…"

Stan smiled. "Catching up on my mermaid facts, kid. Yeah, it's kind of stupid, but after tonight…"

Candace nodded and leaned back, wincing as the scrapes up and down her back flared up. "You know, you could have just asked me stuff."

Stan nodded. "Yeah, I know. Listen, uh, I did have one question. That book mentions moving water with your mind, and I uh…I wasn't sure if…"

Candace smiled and nodded to the sink. Automatically, the tap turned on and Stan blinked in surprise. Candace flicked her hand gently and a stream of water flowed into the air, twisting and moving to her will.

She shaped it into the words "Mystery Shack" and then let the water fall back into the sink and shut the tap off.

Even that small bit of power had drained her, and Candace suddenly felt ready to sleep for a thousand years. "Stan? Can I actually go to bed?"

Stan nodded and got up again, seeming to realize just how tired Candace really was. He picked her up again and walked back into the living room, gently setting her down on the couch and covering her with the blanket.

"You know," Candace said with a small yawn, "I think you were soft hearted before all this happened."

Stan smiled and walked back towards the kitchen. "Yeah, well, don't you dare tell anyone."

* * *

**Aw. I love Stan, frankly. He freaking rocks. **

**This chapter obviously wasn't very action-y, but that's because no one's fighting any death crazed mermaids anymore. But there will be a few more things that happen. **

**Hee hee. **

**Please review!**


	14. Oh Gnome You Didn't!

**CHAPTER 14- Sorry for the late update (for me anyway)! I've had to write a research paper, there was a spaghetti dinner at my church, I had to help with rehearsal for a children's musical, and then there was physics homework…..gah. Crazy whatnot. **

**Anyway, replying to reviews: **

**AquaThePheonix: Sounds like we've both been busy (: And it is great, but it can get annoying sometimes…cough cough….**

**Elizabeth: I won't tell you anything else, but I will say yes to your last question.**

**Privateandcadet: Ouch! That sucks!**

**Apparently one of my friends has a friend who got angry one day and ripped his toe off…shudder. This story made him think of that….kind of wish I hadn't brought it up during our free period.**

**Je ne possède pas Phineas et Ferb ou Gravity Falls.**

* * *

_Stan smiled and walked back towards the kitchen. "Yeah, well, don't you dare tell anyone."_

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Stan sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily, finally shutting the completed mermaid book in front of him.

The man sank back into the worn leather of the dining bench and took a sip of his coffee, practically spewing it out when he found it cold.

Stan scowled and got up, dumping the cold beverage down the drain. He turned on the tap and rinsed the cup, pausing momentarily to stare at the stream of water, remembering how Candace had manipulated it so easily.

Well, not easily. It had obviously tired her out, but it probably was only because of the night they had had.

A gentle creak from the stairs had Stan turning around and looking at the clock in confusion. It wasn't yet 7 o'clock. Who in their right mind would be up at this time?

Stan faced the direction of the stairs and cocked his head curiously as Dipper walked in, fidgeting with his shirt hem. When the boy looked up and saw Stan, he jumped practically a foot in the air.

"G-Grunkle Stan! What are you doing up?" he stuttered nervously, trying to hide the backpack slung over his shoulder.

Stan crossed his thick biceps and frowned down at the boy. "A better question would be, what the heck are you doing up, kid? You just almost got killed. I would think that you would be dead to the world."

The man paused, thinking over his words. "Metaphorically speaking."

Dipper chuckled nervously. "Uh, well, I uh…um…"

Stan raised an eyebrow. "Um, uh, well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

Dipper opened his mouth and Stan held up his hand. "And don't you dare lie to me, Dipper. I know you were going to go out. Your backpack says it all."

Dipper chewed on his lip and looked back at his bag, his eyebrows creased.

Stan watched him quietly, body trembling slightly when he saw the scrapes peeking out from under his shirt and shorts, his raw palms and tired eyes. The edge of a bandage poked out from under his hat, and Stan found himself wondering if he had a concussion, and whether or not he should call the twins' parents.

Dipper looked back and caught Stan watching him, his eyes filled with concern, and Dipper found that, despite all the lying Stan had done to him, he couldn't do it to his grunkle.

Dipper sighed and let the backpack fall gently to the tile floor, his fingers loosely gripping the top. "It's all my fault, Grunkle Stan."

Stan frowned and rubbed his chin. "What is?"

Dipper gulped and looked down at the floor. "Candace getting hurt. I…I wanted to know if the mermaids were actually there. I put everyone in danger, especially her."

"Dipper-"

"Hang on. I want to fix it. I've been up all night reading," the boy said, shouldering his backpack again, "and I think I found something that could help her, maybe even bring her toe back or something."

Stan sighed. "Dipper, come on. There is nothing that could possibly do that. Such a thing doesn't exist."

Dipper looked up, his eyes blazing. "You cannot stand there and tell me you don't believe that when you just saw your great-great niece- or whatever she is to you! - as a mermaid."

Stan grimaced and glanced down at the worn table top, running his fingers over the bumpy surface delicately. "Kid, I just don't want you getting hurt if you go looking for it."

Dipper was stunned, and he had no words that could justify what Stan had just said. He walked over to his grunkle and hugged him briefly. "I wasn't going to do anything stupid, Grunkle Stan."

Stan turned on his great nephew and scowled. "Oh really, mister 'I was just going to sneak out behind everyone's backs at the crack of dawn?'"

Dipper winced. "I…I can explain."

Stan held up a hand. "Save it. I'll let you go, as long as it's nowhere near the lake."

Dipper shuddered. "Heck no. I wouldn't even consider it right now."

Stan nodded and cocked his head. "Stay here for a second."

Dipper shrugged and Stan exited the room.

The man tiptoed past Candace and gently picked Perry up in his hands, automatically waking the platypus up. The animal growled for a second before realizing who it was, and then his hard growl turned into a soft, friendly chatter.

"Shh. I want you to go with Dipper," the man muttered.

Perry was confused until Stan walked into the kitchen and he saw Dipper standing there holding a backpack. The boy looked at his grunkle, utterly confused. "Why on earth do you have Perry?"

Grunkle Stan reached behind the door and brought out Perry's leash. "You're taking him with you."

Dipper rolled his eyes as he clipped the leash onto the platypus. "What good is a platypus going to do me?"

Stan frowned and crossed his arms. "I don't know, but somehow, both Perry and Waddles realized that something was wrong tonight and woke us up. Take him. Even if he doesn't do much, at the very least he'll be able to find his way back."

Dipper looked down at Perry with a roll of his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. But please don't tell anyone what I've gone to do. If I do find whatever it is I'm looking for, I want it to be a surprise. If I don't, well then I'll have saved myself some humiliation and Candace some unwelcome hope."

Perry looked up sharply at the boy, wondering what on earth he was planning on doing. The boy nodded to his grunkle and walked outside into the brisk morning air, where the sky was just turning from black to gray.

The boy walked silently, keeping Perry on a loose leash so that he could think.

The wind blew gently and Dipper shut his eyes, wishing that his throbbing head would shut up. Trees rustled above him, and all he could hear were the early birds (literally), the rattling sound of dead leaves being blown over the pavement, Perry's small pattering footsteps, and his own gentle breathing.

Dipper opened his eyes again and slung Perry's leash around his wrist, pulling his book from his backpack and moving to the side of the road to read the page he had marked last night.

He sat down on a tree stump and held the page down with one hand, vaguely aware of Perry putting his front paws on the stump and looking at the page, almost as if he was reading over his shoulder.

Dipper smiled to himself and read quietly what he had already practically memorized.

_During my studies, I have recovered a species of flora that seems to cure any ailment that may fall on a person. _

_This flower is located in the middle of the woods, very near where the gnomes reside. _

_It becomes itself with faint orange petals and a pink center and is very rare due to its medical qualities. If my research on this flower is correct, than the medicine in the flower is able to cure everything from the common cold to cancer, and, though I have never tested my theory, the ability to re-grow missing limbs. _

_Note: The patient whom you wish to cure must eat or drink the flower directly (crushing the petals and blending them is the easiest way). But NEVER eat the stem. Whereas the petals and center will cure any disease, the stem will kill the person who eats it, slowly and painfully._

Dipper snapped the book shut and shivered. "Pleasant way to end the passage, huh Perry?"

Perry chattered and Dipper looked down at him. "If I let you off the leash, you wouldn't run away, would you?"

Perry gave him a sarcastic chatter, practically rolling his eyes, and the boy smiled. "Cool. But you stay with me, mister," he said sternly, unclipping the leash from the monotreme.

The two walked in silence for a while, Dipper eventually walking off the path and starting to cut his way through the woods.

Perry followed him carefully, delicately picking his way over the burrs and needles on the plants. He wasn't paying much attention until Dipper stopped and the platypus ran into him.

Dipper glanced back. "Sorry, Perry," he whispered.

Perry picked himself up and peeked curiously into the clearing. What he saw stunned him, despite having read it in the book.

Gnomes of all shapes and sizes (actually, they were all pretty much the same height, but some of them looked pretty funky) were scattered around the clearing, cooking, cleaning, or doing something that looked like gambling….if you could use rocks as playing cards and mushrooms as chips.

Female gnomes were the ones cooking and cleaning (though some were obviously winning the gambles they were taking) and rocking babies.

Children gnomes ran around playing a bizarre game of tag that involved a stick and a bee hive (empty, thank goodness).

To Perry, it almost looked like a regular community, albeit an odd one. But Dipper knelt, his face worried. "These gnomes are bad news, Perry," he whispered softly. "They tried to kidnap Mabel and make her their queen. When that didn't work, they tried to kill me and take Mabel anyway."

Perry frowned. Did everything in these woods want to kill people?

The boy and platypus looked out into the clearing again, and Dipper pointed towards what looked like a garden, fenced off with long branches and thorns from rosebushes. Inside were tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and the flower they were looking for.

"There it is," Dipper murmured, slightly to Perry, and sort of to himself, in complete awe. "Wow. 'Near the gnomes' my hat. That's practically in the middle! Now we just have to get it."

Dipper studied the gnome community quietly, noting that most of the gnomes there were either elderly or children and women. Hmmmm….maybe he could just charge in, grab it, and get out before they could react.

Dipper crouched into a runner's position, ignoring the pain in his upper body and the way his head was spinning. He winked at Perry and sprinted into the clearing, heading straight for the flower.

Almost immediately, gnomes dropped from the trees and started running towards the boy. Perry scowled and leapt into the fray, keeping out of Dipper's line of sight and beating up the gnomes swiftly.

Out of the corner of his eye, the platypus saw Dipper get tackled by a gnome. The boy screamed, "Jeff!" before instinctively punching the gnome off of him. Perry turned his line of sight to the plant and leapt towards it, snapping at any gnome who got too close.

* * *

Dipper rolled and kicked and finally got the gnomes off of him, crawling rapidly into the woods and hiding behind a tree as they searched.

Eventually, though it took almost an hour, they disappeared and Dipper stood to go back to the shack, knowing that he couldn't risk another attempt at the flower. Already some of his cuts from last night were bleeding again and his head felt like it was going to fall off.

The boy had only made it two feet when he froze. Perry. Good god, how had he forgotten about the platypus?

Dipper turned in worry, scanning the area. "Perry!" he called softly, starting to panic.

It was bad enough that he hadn't gotten the flower to help Candace, but to lose Perry at the same time, possibly to a bunch of gnomes? Was there a worse or more humiliating way to go, even for a platypus?

A small chatter at his feet made Dipper grin and he looked down, relieved to see the platypus.

"Perry! Thank goodness!"

Dipper knelt, briefly taking in the small scrapes that littered the platypus's fur and blinked, his smile widening.

"You are one freaking awesome pet," Dipper said as he gently took the flower from Perry's beak.

* * *

**Perry's super smart, n'est pas? ****Hopefully I'll be able to update more quickly next time….**

**Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter, and that I kept everyone as in character as possible. **

**Review please!**


	15. One More Thing to Worry About

**CHAPTER 15- Hey. So I've been sick for the last two days, or else I would have updated yesterday. There was a musical at my church on Sunday. It rocked, and I got to scream! YAY!**

**Living Encyclopedia: I swear, no one ever sees Perry.**

**14AmyChan: No, no he didn't. Amazing. You're the only one who asked that. **

**AquaThePheonix: That's a smart idea. Everyone should do that. **

**Fvcutie0028: I take French, so I like to use it in everyday life. Seriously. I'll be getting ready for dinner or something and ask my mom where the "fromage" (cheese) is. LOL.**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. I am now obsessed with Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Chipettes songs. I'm weird. Read anyway!**

**Sorry for any mistakes! Didn't get a chance to triple check the chapter!**

* * *

"_You are one freaking awesome pet," Dipper said as he gently took the flower from Perry's beak._

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace woke up at nine am, unable to sleep anymore due to the pain running up and down her legs. She glanced over at the arm chair to see that Perry had gone and she sighed, sitting up slowly and wincing.

Her body ached; not the good kind of ache like you get after doing a sport for a few hours, but the kind of ache like you just fell down the stairs and broke your butt. That kind of pain.

Candace took a deep breath and pulled her right leg out from under the covers, slowly putting it on the floor and breathing heavily the whole time.

"Candace," Grunkle Stan said, walking in and leaning on the doorjamb, his tired eyes watching her in slight amusement. "I have a wheel chair, if you'd like to use it for now."

Candace glanced up and nodded. "That would be great, Stan. Thanks."

Stan disappeared and came back several minutes later, wheeling the chair in front of him. He stopped in front of Candace and picked her up, placing her into it.

Candace leaned over and plucked the blanket off the couch, draping it over her legs. She gripped the wheels in her hands and nodded to Stan. "I've got it from here. Thanks."

Stan smiled and stood back, waving a hand. Candace pushed the wheels forward and smiled as the chair moved.

After a few false movements and a broken vase, Candace finally got to the kitchen, only to practically run into Mabel.

"Whoa! Sorry Mabel!" Candace yelped, backing up the chair quickly.

Mabel gave a weary smile and slid into the bench seat. "It's ok. You didn't actually hit me or anything."

Candace smiled and parked the chair next to the table. "You look tired."

Mabel nodded. "I am."

Candace leaned her chin in her hand and looked at Mabel closely. "You ok? I mean, last night was pretty crazy."

The girl glanced up at Candace and gave her a small smile. "I'm fine, Candace, I promise. Just...well, a little freaked out, I guess."

Candace winced and glanced down, rubbing her thighs gently, trying to push the pain out of them. Mabel looked up, her eyes wide.

"No, Candace, not of you. I'm not freaked out by you." She scoffed and waved her hand. "I've seen weirder than you."

The girl paused and rubbed her chin. "No offense," she added as an afterthought.

Candace chuckled and looked up, a twinkle in her eyes. "That's fine. I've heard…well, a lot worse."

Mabel smiled. "No, I meant that I was freaked out about…well, Dipper almost died…again. But it was worse this time. If you hadn't been here…"

The girl shivered and glanced out the window, rubbing her shoulders slowly. Candace moved her wheel chair over to Mabel and hugged the girl gently. "Well, I was here, so don't worry."

Mabel looked up, the usual perky eyes teary. She hugged Candace back and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry. You know, about your toe."

Candace laughed and pulled away. "Mabel, come on. What's a toe compared to your brother's life?"

Mabel grinned and looked around, frowning slowly. "Speaking of Dipper, where is he?"

Candace hesitated, her eyes searching the room. "I don't know."

Grunkle Stan walked into the kitchen, freshly showered, shaved, and dressed, and looking ten times better than he had an hour ago. "Dipper took Perry for a walk earlier. Think he needed to clear his head," the man said, starting up a fresh pot of coffee on the counter.

Candace frowned, sensing the obvious lying in the man's voice. "Why'd he take Perry for a walk? Phineas and Ferb would have done it."

Stan shrugged and turned around. "Yeah, but I think he wanted someone, anyone, to go with him."

Candace narrowed her eyes slightly, but Stan didn't go any further, just started washing out the coffee mugs sitting by the sink.

She didn't get a chance to question him further, because Phineas and Ferb walked into the kitchen with Waddles at their side, who immediately trotted up to Mabel and oinked, hopping into her lap.

"Hey Waddles," Mabel giggled, stroking the pigs head gently.

Phineas grinned. "He was in our room this morning. By the way, where's Dipper? We didn't hear him leave, and Waddles didn't wake up or anything."

Candace glanced at the pig, who just gave her a sheepish look. Poor guy was probably exhausted.

Stan gave the boys the same story he had given Candace and Mabel, and Candace had to remind herself that Stan wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his grand-nephew, so the story he was telling them must have been the one Dipper had told the man.

So why did it still feel like Stan was lying?

Candace shook it off as her father walked in the room, also freshly shaved and talking into his phone, a grave look on his face. The man had slight bags under his eyes and was rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

"All right. Ok. Thanks for calling, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro. All right. Bye."

The man snapped the phone shut and sank onto the bench, burying his head in his hands. "Dad?" Phineas said nervously, his first thought going to Isabella. "Is everything okay with the Garcia-Shapiro's?"

Lawrence looked up, his eyes surprised. "What? Oh, Phineas, I'm sorry. Yes, their fine. Everyone there is fine. But to add to the events of last night, the antique shop was robbed."

Phineas' jaw dropped. "Seriously? Who the heck steals antiques?!"

Lawrence gave a grim smile. "Sadly, in this case, antiques are very valuable. Since we weren't home, the police notified Vivian, who in turn called us. I'm afraid we have no choice but to go home."

The kids immediately began protesting, and Lawrence winced, holding up a hand. "I know this isn't ideal, especially with how beat up you are, Candace, but your mother and I don't know how long this will take to sort out."

Stan cleared his throat. "Look, Lawrence, Candace is in no condition to travel right now, and the kids are all having a pretty good time. I'm already watching two; and besides, Candace is a teenager, and Wendy is here every day. Why don't you just leave the kids here and I'll keep an eye on them?"

Phineas and Ferb spun to look pleadingly at their father. "Please Dad?" Phineas said, clasping his hands in front of him.

Candace looked over at her father. "It really would be easier on me, Dad."

"Please, Mr. Flynn-Fletcher?" Mabel said, using a pouty face. "I like having them here."

Lawrence sighed and looked at the pleading faces of all the kids, and even Waddles. The Brit stood and ruffled Ferb's hair. "I'll talk to your mother."

Phineas and Ferb high fived as Lawrence left the room. Candace chuckled and leaned back in her wheel chair, looking at Stan in amusement. "You really want to put up with us?" she asked him.

Stan shrugged and poured himself a cup of coffee from the newly made pot. "I mean, I put up with this monster and her brother daily," he said, waving his mug at Mabel.

Mabel mock scowled. "Well thanks a lot, Grunkle Stan."

Stan snorted and strode out of the room and into the Mystery Shack gift shop. The kids, and Candace and Waddles, sat in silence for a moment before Phineas spoke up.

"Well, if everyone's up to it, we can continue with the forest wide tree house. Candace, you and Mabel got all the painting done yesterday, so we just have to put in all the…Ferb, what do we have to put in, exactly?"

Ferb glanced up with an amused smirk. "The stuff, Phineas. That's it."

Phineas snorted and pushed his brother gently. "Oh, shush. Who's up for it?"

Mabel shrugged. "I'm in. It's something to do at least. And I'm sure that when Dipper gets back he'll join in."

Candace smiled and glanced down at the table top. Phineas winced. "Oh, that's right. You can't help. Um….we don't have to-"

Candace held up a hand. "Phineas, I'll be fine. Go have fun. I'll watch from the porch."

The boys glanced at each other and disappeared out the door. Mabel looked at Candace. "You sure?"

Candace chuckled. "Go have fun, Mabel. I'll get Mom to bring me a magazine or something."

Mabel gave a hesitant smile and followed the boys out the door. Candace unlocked her chair and rolled towards the door, allowing Waddles out before she went. She positioned the chair at the railing and adjusted her blanket gently so that it was still covering her right foot, but no longer covering her left.

Candace leaned her head back and shut her eyes, breathing gently. After last night, the late morning was beautifully serene. The wind pushed her hair off her shoulders and brought the fresh scent of damp grass into her nostrils.

Even the sound of a truck backing into the driveway sounded peaceful compared to the horrid splashing and screaming from last night.

Candace shuddered and snapped her eyes open, looking down at the boards of the porch and briskly rubbing her shoulders as faces reappeared in her head, her mind remembering the terrible pain thrown on her, the way her mind had screamed for her to give up, there was no way to escape. The way she almost _had _given up, until she had remembered her brothers, her family, everything she had gone through to get to Dipper.

Candace shuddered and realized that she was crying. She brushed her hand frantically under her eyes, hoping no one had seen. She didn't want any more sympathy.

"Candace, honey?"

Crap. Linda. Candace glanced up at her mother and the woman frowned, gently brushing a strand of Candace's hair behind her ear. "Sweetheart, you're ok. You're fine, Dipper's fine. Don't worry."

Candace nodded and gripped her mother's hand, grateful for the silence. She glanced out at the boys and Mabel, who thankfully hadn't noticed her little breakdown.

"Are you and Dad letting us stay?" she asked, glancing up at her mother.

Linda sighed and nodded. "Yes. Your father and I discussed it, and we decided that under the circumstances that it would be best for you kids to stay here. Hopefully the police have a lead as to who robbed the store."

Candace gave a shaky laugh. "What a way to end these last three weeks, huh?"

Linda kissed Candace's forehead gently. "Honey, I swear, I hope you don't have to go through anything this bad again. We're just lucky that your injuries weren't worse than bad scrapes and bruises."

Linda squeezed her hand again and walked over to the car, where Lawrence was putting their two suitcases. Candace sighed and rubbed her right leg gently, wincing at the once again prominent phantom toe pain.

"I wish they weren't worse," Candace muttered.

She heard Phineas and Ferb and Mabel start calling out and she glanced up to see Dipper walking up the road, a back pack slung over a shoulder and Perry's leash in his hand. Perry trotted at his side, and even from this distance, Candace could see a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Dipper, where were you?" Mabel called to her brother.

Dipper grinned and hopped up the stairs, handing Perry's leash to Candace as he passed by. Candace briefly noticed the re-bleeding cuts on his arms and legs and she frowned.

"What on earth were you doing?" the girl asked, motioning to his new injuries.

Dipper laughed and pushed open the front door. "You'd be surprised how much damage a bunch of gnomes can cause you."

* * *

**I know, not my best chapter. But I needed something for you guys to read. **

**Blargh (my new catchphrase; bonus cookies to anyone who knows what book series its from).**

**BTW, I'd love it if you guys would take a look at shopgirl152's story called **_**Coming Home. **_**It's freaking awesome, and it doesn't take long to read. It's a Gravity Falls and Phineas and Ferb crossover, and I happen to adore it, even if it does take place in the future. It's so cute! Take a look at it please!**

**Review please!**


	16. Root Beer Floats Fix Everything

**CHAPTER 16-Yay! Updating within one day! I like being efficient! I blew off all my homework for this! Yeah! Maybe...I should go, uh...do it. **

**Hem. Reviews:**

**AquaThePheonix: Might as well tell you now: Candace's parents don't find out. You'll see why...wink wink**

**Living Encyclopedia: Not as badly as you would think, actually. And yes, it has become part of my normal vocabulary. **

**Wii Guy: We'll never know. Seriously. I just needed the parents gone because I didn't really have a part for them, so they would have just been awkwardly there. It's better this way. **

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. I freaking loved the newest episode of Randy Cunningham where Howard got posessed! XD (Just watch it)**

**Read on!**

* * *

_Dipper laughed and pushed open the front door. "You'd be surprised how much damage a bunch of gnomes can cause you."_

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Mabel frowned and darted into the house after her brother, following him into the living room. "Dipper? What did you mean about the gnomes?" the girl asked in worry, settling down cross legged next to her brother.

Dipper looked up and dropped his backpack gently to the floor. "Don't worry, Mabel. I'm fine. The gnomes didn't do anything more than open up some of my cuts from last night."

Mabel winced. "That's what I'm worried about, you dodo. What was so important that you took Perry for a walk near those dumb creatures?"

Dipper grinned and unzipped his bag with a flourish. "Just this," he said triumphantly, pulling the flower out of his bag.

Mabel looked at it for a minute. "What, is that for Wendy or something?"

Dipper rolled his eyes and set the flower down on the floor. "No. I felt…I felt really bad about what happened to Candace, and I read about this flower in my book. It can fix practically any injury, Mabel. It might even be able to regrow missing limbs."

Mabel sat straight up, her big eyes wider than usual. "Nuh-uh. There is no way you found the one thing that could help Candace."

Dipper smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, wincing slightly and rubbing his stomach a little. Mabel frowned. "Are your cuts ok?"

Dipper snorted. "No. They kind of burn, but it'll pass."

Mabel chewed on her lip and cocked her head. "What if you use some of the flower on yourself, too?"

Dipper shook his head and scooped the flower into his hands, walking into the kitchen. "No way. What if it only works if I give her the whole thing?"

Mabel opened her mouth, and then slowly shut it, realizing that her brother had a valid point. "But Dipper, what about your injuries?"

Dipper flinched and rubbed his arm carefully, setting the flower down onto a cutting board. "My injuries…are pathetic in comparison to Candace's."

He picked up a knife and deftly sliced off the stem, making sure that nothing was left of it on the flower before throwing the stem away and washing his hands. "Why'd you-?"

Dipper cut his sister off. "The stem is poisonous and could kill her."

Mabel made a face and watched as her brother sliced the delicate petals gently and tossed them into the blender that sat on the side counter. He added vanilla ice cream and root beer and blended the…interesting concoction together.

"Why'd you blend all that other stuff in?" Mabel asked curiously, leaning on the counter.

Dipper carefully poured the root-beer float-ish item into a cup and added a straw. "Because, I don't know what the flower tastes like, so I'm adding two distinct flavors to it: French vanilla, and root beer. Can't get more distinct than that."

Mabel shrugged and followed Dipper to the door. "You sure she'll drink it?"

Dipper sighed and pushed the screen door open with his right hand, holding tightly to the drink with his left.

"I really hope so, Mabel."

* * *

Candace was frustrated. Perry wouldn't tell her what Dipper had really been doing in the woods, and he was smirking away with his little platypus smirk.

"Seriously, Perry, please tell me?" Candace whispered softly.

Perry just chuckled throatily and laid his head on his paws. _"Sorry Candace. That's for me to know and you to find out."_

Candace sighed and leaned her head into her chin, staring at Phineas and Ferb, who were putting together what looked like a hot tub. How they would get it in the trees was beyond her.

She glanced up as the screen door creaked open and Dipper walked out, carrying what looked like a root beer float and saying something to Mabel.

He turned around and grinned at Candace, though the girl could see the hint of nervousness in his eyes. "Hey, Candace. I made you a root beer float," he said, holding the drink out sheepishly.

Candace, though surprised, accepted the drink gratefully, as it was getting warm out. "Thanks, Dipper."

Dipper nodded and he and Mabel ran down the steps to join Phineas and Ferb.

Candace took a sip of the drink and blinked, looking down at it curiously, and then shrugging with indifference. They probably made their root beer differently here.

"OK!" she heard Phineas yell as she sipped away at her drink, feeling better from the cold every second. "Let's add the water!"

Candace cocked her head in confusion and Dipper did the same. "Uh, Phineas," the boy said, "wouldn't it be easier to put the hot tub in the tree _first_?"

Phineas grinned. "Not when you've got Candace."

Everyone slowly pivoted to look at the teen in question, who gave Phineas a confused look. "What?"

Phineas stood and trotted over to his sister. "I mean, if you're up to it, you can move the water and hot tub easily. If not, we'll just do it the old fashioned way."

Candace thought about it, finishing up her float. Amazingly, she felt pretty good. Maybe it was the sleep, or being outside, or just the thought of being able to do something, but she was feeling really good. And their parents had already left, so there was no one to protest, seeing as how Stan was managing customers in the Shack.

Candace shrugged. "I guess I can, but I need to be able to see the tree it goes in."

Phineas grinned. "We made it so that it's on the edge of the woods, in case they need to get out really fast or something. We just need to get you down on the front lawn."

Candace hesitated. "You guys can't possibly carry me."

Ferb walked over and flexed his muscles. "We'll just see about that," the Brit said with a smile.

* * *

Two minutes later, Ferb flopped over on the grass, panting and waving a white handkerchief while Phineas cracked up.

Candace threw her hands in the air. "Come on, I'm not _that _heavy!"

"Well," Phineas pointed out, sitting up and wiping his eyes, "you do have that wheelchair added to the mix."

"I thought he just meant me!" Candace yelped. The girl sighed and slumped back in the chair. "Mabel, turn on the hose."

Mabel looked up with a bizarre look. "Turn on the…huh?"

Candace waved a hand. "Just go."

Mabel looked at Dipper, who just shrugged in confusion. Phineas and Ferb, however, backed up to the sides of the yard, grinning.

"Ok," Phineas said in his best announcer's voice as Mable switched on the hose. "Last night you saw Candace go all 'Kung-Fu mermaid.' Now you see her as your typical, everyday half mermaid."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Typical?"

Phineas chuckled. "You might want to step back, unless you like getting soaked."

Candace rolled her eyes. "Really, Phineas, since when do I know Kung-Fu?"

Phineas gave a shrug and Candace sighed, raising her left hand in the air in concentration. A twist of water from the hose moved towards her, and, using her right hand and left hand together, she pulled her hands apart, making the water into a long, thin oval in the air.

Candace squinted an eye shut and slid the water under the chair, holding her right hand absolutely flat. She took a deep breath, nervous, as she had only tried this a few times.

Candace kept her right hand flat and clenched her left hand into the tightest fist she could muster. Candace gulped and jerked her chin upwards, sending the chair flying, on its makeshift water platform, into the center of the yard.

Candace grinned as the chair hit the grass and she flung her right hand up and over. Phineas yelped and leapt to the side, barely missing getting hit by the moving water.

Dipper and Mabel's jaws were on the grass as the walked over. "How on earth-?" Mabel asked as she turned off the water slowly.

Candace sank back into her seat and rubbed a hand over her forehead. "I forgot how hard that was. Ferb, next time just carry _me _into the house, ok?"

Ferb nodded, his face dead serious. Phineas stepped up to his sister's side, watching her warily should she decide to launch another sneak attack.

"Ok. Candace, if you're still up to it," Phineas said, "can you get the hot tub up there?" he asked, pointing to a platform about twenty five feet away.

Candace shaped her thumb and forefingers of each hand into an "L" and held them up to her face, sticking her tongue out a little. "Probably."

Amazingly, she still felt fine. The strain she had felt on moving her chair had been the usual amount of strain she felt when she tried a stunt like that. Candace couldn't understand it; she felt like she could lift a tower with the water. She wasn't going to try, but she felt like she could.

Candace shrugged and focused on the water already inside the hot tub.

Using it as almost a cocoon, Candace managed to get the tub up and into the tree house with minimal spillage.

Dipper shook his head in disbelief as the hot tub settled down and Phineas, who had climbed up to the top of the tree house, secured it into place. "I can't believe it."

Candace glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "You were fighting gnomes earlier!"

Dipper blushed. "Well, yeah."

Phineas came back, twirling his rivet gun and blowing on the barrel. "The deed is done," he said ominously.

Mabel glanced at Ferb. "Does he always do that?" she inquired.

Ferb snorted and shook his head, holding his arms out to his sister, grateful for all those body building courses that had, in the end, been worth their cost.

Candace managed to fumble her way into her brother's arms and Ferb mock struggled, making Candace bop him upside the head. "Oh, shush. I'm not heavy, mister 'body builder.'"

Ferb chuckled and easily climbed the front steps, shouldering his way into the shack while Phineas, Dipper, and Mabel struggled with the wheel chair behind them.

The Brit set his sister down on the kitchen bench, accidentally knocking the blanket off her legs in the process. He winced and Candace shrugged. "I'm not cold anymore, and Mom and Dad aren't here. Just pick it up, please."

Ferb nodded and knelt to pick it up.

He glanced up and froze, his eyes going wide. The boy stumbled back, almost smacking his head off of the stove. Candace sat up, her brow creased in worry. "Ferb? What's wrong?"

Ferb gulped slowly and pointed a quivering hand to Candace's foot.

Phineas glanced up from his issues with the chair and looked over at Ferb in concern. "What's wrong, guys?"

Candace shook her head, following Ferb's trembling finger to her foot. "I don't – Holy Sh…oot!"

Phineas' head whipped up, his orange hair flying in all directions at the sound of his sister almost swearing. Her face was as pale as Ferb's and both of them were staring intently at Candace's foot.

Actually, at Candace's right pinky toe. Which was slowly re-growing.

* * *

**I just did that. And applause for Dipper, everyone. That kid rocks. **

**R and R please!**


	17. Don't Play With Broken Glass

**CHAPTER 17- Ah. Spring Break. Time to sleep, eat, dance, skip, read, and WRITE. Thank goodness. **

**TheLPSDragon: Great. I needed Dipper!**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Sorry for any mistakes! This chapter was a little harder to write because...well...(:**

**SMILE. IT'S SPRING BREAK.**

* * *

_Actually, at Candace's right pinky toe. Which was slowly re-growing._

* * *

GENERAL POV, FIVE HOURS LATER

* * *

Candace paced the attic room…well, more like she hobbled the attic room, but it was a lot better than earlier that day when her toe had been gone.

Candace looked down at her foot, still not quite believing it. The toe hadn't completely re-grown, which creeped her out to no end. But it was half there, which proved wonders for her balance.

The door to the attic opened and Dipper walked in, almost falling backwards when he saw Candace. "C-C-Candace! What are…I thought you were, uh, in your room," the boy stuttered.

The girl raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Mabel told me, Dipper."

Dipper tried his best to look confused. "What? Told you…told you what?"

Candace sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You know what, Dipper. About what you guys talked about last night, and what you did this morning."

Dipper winced and looked down, recalling his conversation with Mabel about his brief fear of Candace.

A gentle hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up warily at the girl, who was watching him curiously. She gently squatted in front of him, almost losing her balance due to her toe. Dipper quickly grabbed her shoulder to steady her and Candace nodded, regaining her balance.

"Thanks. Dipper, talk to me. I know I freaked you out last night."

Dipper rubbed his neck slowly and moved to sit on his bed. Candace slid onto Mabel's bed, though technically it was Phineas and Ferb's right now.

The boy sighed, knowing that he wasn't getting out of this anytime soon. "I…yeah, I was scared. Heck, I was terrified for a second, as much as I hate to admit it."

Candace winced. "Of me?"

Dipper chewed on his lip for a long time. "Not so much you as…as what you reminded me of."

Candace nodded slowly. "Those mermaids, huh?"

Dipper shuddered and drew his knees up to his chin, grimacing as his stomach wound flared. Candace hesitated, and then moved to sit next to him, pushing his knees down and examining the cuts on his stomach.

"Why didn't you use that flower on yourself too?" Candace asked softly.

Dipper looked up at her, frowning slightly. "How did-? Oh, right. Mabel."

Candace shifted position so that she was now facing Dipper. "Well?"

The boy hesitated and looked down at his hands, which were clenched together in his lap. "I didn't know if it would work if I only gave you some of it. And I felt so…so bad when I saw you hurt. I just couldn't bear the idea of knowing that you would be hurting for so long…because of me."

Dipper stared at his lap for a long time, jumping slightly when Candace leaned in and gave him a huge hug.

Startled, the boy returned the hug, quivering a little. He had been so scared that Candace would hate him for being so dumb…but she didn't seem to care.

"You are so brave," Candace said, pulling away and grinning. "If there weren't gnomes guarding the flowers, I'd go and get another one."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Exactly how much did Mabel tell you earlier?"

Candace shrugged. "Pretty much everything."

Dipper rolled his eyes and glanced back down. "Can…can I ask you a question?"

Candace nodded, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, of course."

"Well," Dipper started, holding up a fist as he started ticking things off on his fingers. "I know that you're a mermaid-" one finger, "-and that you can apparently move water with your mind or hands or…whatever-" a second finger was raised, "-but I am curious about one thing."

Candace shrugged. "Shoot."

"Can you understand Perry?"

If Candace had been drinking water, she would have spit it out. As it was, she almost slipped off the bed.

"Wh-what? Why would you, uh, think that?"

Dipper frowned, a small smirk on his face that said her performance hadn't been as satisfactory as she would have hoped. "Cause, that second day you guys were here, Perry kept making his little noise and you kept making weird faces at him or something." The boy shrugged. "It just looked like you were talking to him."

Candace groaned and flopped back on the bed and Dipper frowned, peering at her. "Am I not supposed to know that?" he questioned.

Candace sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes with her palms. "No, it's fine. But Phineas and Ferb and our parents….no one, actually, knows that I can understand Perry. They know that I can understand other aquatic and semi-aquatic animals-"

"Wait, what?"

"-but I never told them I could understand Perry."

Dipper cocked his head at her. "Why on earth not?"

Candace paused; racking her brain for a plausible explanation that didn't involve Perry's or Waddle's secret being revealed.

"Well….because. He's a platypus. They don't do a whole lot. So while I can understand him, he isn't really what I would call a 'conversationalist,'" Candace said, trying to hold back a guffaw. If anything, Perry was more talkative than her when he got going.

"So?" Dipper questioned.

Candace licked her lips nervously. She had to make this good. "So, if the boys found out I could understand Perry, don't you think they'd pester the poor guy with tons of questions?"

Dipper frowned, thinking the answer over. "I….suppose. What does he actually say to you?"

Candace gave a subtle shrug. "Not much. Mostly things about food, or sleep, or walks. The day you saw me 'talking' to him, he wasn't comfortable with Waddles."

Dipper blinked in surprise. "Seriously? He doesn't like our pig?"

Candace chuckled. "Didn't. They're cool now."

There was a long silence after that, in which Dipper sat quietly, tying to process his life. Candace coughed gently a few minutes later and looked at the boy out of the corner of her eye. "So…you good?"

Dipper nodded slowly. "I…I think so."

Candace grinned. "Good," she said, standing up and moving to the door. "I'm sorry I scared you."

Dipper nodded and adjusted his hat. "I'm sorry I reacted so badly."

The girl shrugged and opened the door, stepping into the hall. "It's fine. I'm going to see if Wendy needs any help in the Shack."

Dipper glanced briefly at the clock to see that it read almost four in the afternoon. "Ok. I'll probably be down in a few minutes."

Candace nodded and left the door, walking down the stairs carefully, still putting most of her weight on her left foot.

She stepped into the Mystery Shack gift shop and walked over to the counter, where a bored looking Wendy was handing a bag to a plump woman with a camera. "Thanks for visiting the Mystery Shack," Wendy said as she handed over change. "I hope your time here was Shack-ingly mysterious."

The woman grunted and left the room and Wendy turned to find Candace cracking up, doubled over in laughter.

Wendy crossed her arms and looked at Candace indignantly. "What's so funny?"

Candace stood up, panting and brushing away a tear. "Shack-ingly mysterious?" she said, snorting in the middle of the question and barely able to finish it.

Wendy threw her hands in the air and turned, crossing something out on a notepad. "I'll tell Stan that that catchphrase is out."

Candace continued cracking up and Wendy just sighed. "When you're done with that, would you mind helping me set out this 'sea glass?'" Wendy asked, holding up a box filled with different colors of broken glass.

Candace finally managed to get her breathing in order, and she glanced down into the box with a slight frown. "That's just regular old glass," she pointed out, reaching in and bringing a piece out.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Try telling our customers that," she muttered, starting to set the pieces on a display shelf.

Candace shrugged and started helping her. The girls worked in silence for a moment before Wendy spoke up, glancing down at Candace's foot as she spoke.

"I take it Dipper found that flower to fix your toe?" she asked as she placed a pink piece of glass on the shelf.

Candace blinked and looked up. "Wait….how'd you know about my toe?"

Wendy shrugged and reached her hand back into the box. "Mabel told me stuff. Plus, I'm pretty obser- Ouch!" she yelped, yanking her hand out of the box and examining her palm closely. A jagged cut ran down it, already starting to bleed.

"Great," the teen muttered, shutting her hand over it.

Candace moved over quickly. "Here, let me see," she said, glancing down at the girl's hand. "It's not too bad. I'll put pressure on it and then we can get a bandage or something."

Candace gently pressed her palm to Wendy's as the slightly older girl reached up above them and pulled a first-aid kit from the top shelf. Both teens moved over to the counter and Wendy flipped the catch on the kit, revealing Band-Aids, alcohol, and some gauze and tape.

"Nice," muttered Wendy as she pulled out a bandage, "Stan actually keeps this stocked."

Candace chuckled and removed her hand from Wendy's cut, moving back towards the box of glass. Wendy's quick intake of breath made Candace turn back, thinking that she had poured some of the alcohol on her cut and it was stinging.

But Wendy was just staring at her hand in disbelief.

Candace walked back over to the girl and frowned. "Wendy?"

The girl glanced up and turned her hand so that it faced Candace. Candace felt her jaw drop as she stared at the smooth palm in front of her.

"How on earth-?" Wendy asked.

Candace shook her head and Wendy looked up at her sharply. The teen snapped the first-aid kit shut and walked back to the shelf, replacing the kit as Candace thought.

"I don't know…I put pressure on the cut," Candace mused, seeing Wendy walking back over towards her, "and then…."

Candace glanced up in time for Wendy to grab her wrist and slide a piece of glass down her forearm. Candace shrieked quietly and jerked her bleeding arm from Wendy's grasp, thinking that the girl was losing it.

"What the heck?!" Candace yelped, staring at the girl in bewilderment, and slight fear.

But Wendy didn't look insane. She dropped the glass into the trash and moved closer, pulling Candace's arm away from her.

"Candace, chill," Wendy said with a roll of her eyes. "I wasn't trying to hurt you."

Candace stared at her in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right?"

Wendy shook her head. "No. Candace, seriously, look at your arm."

Candace reluctantly looked down at her forearm and shrugged, seeing that the cut was gone. "So? It's just the effect from the flower."

Wendy leaned back and crossed her arms. "Then how do you explain my hand?" she asked.

Candace opened her mouth, and then shut it, at a loss for words.

"Candace? When was the last time you noticed your cuts healing or your toe growing?"

The girl paused. "A while ago," she admitted slowly. "But I don't get it."

Wendy grinned. "I do. That flower is in your veins. I think that ultimately, it acted like a regular medicine would; it lasted a couple of hours or so, and then wore off. Except in your case…"

She trailed off and looked down at the wood floor for a moment, glancing at the door as a customer walked in.

"In my case what?" Candace asked, still confused.

Wendy moved to the register and glanced back over at Candace as she rang up the customers quickly selected purchase, leaning in close so that the man wouldn't hear her.

"I think the flower's stuck in you; I think," Wendy said with a mischievous grin, "that you've got another power to add to your list."

* * *

**Heehee. But just what, exactly, does Wendy mean?**

**Review to find out! Happy Spring Break!**

**BTW, who liked my little catchphrase for the Mystery Shack? Yeah. I thought of that myself fools!**

**Ahem...Just please review. **


	18. Didn't See That Coming

**CHAPTER 18**

**Well then. An author has one dumb error…gah. I am never trusting spell check again in my life. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't bother to look for it because I fixed the mistake. Blargh. **

**Reviewers: **

**Wii Guy: She's going to ponder on that….and I read your chapter, just couldn't review cause of my stupid phone. I loved it, btw!**

**14AmyChan: Yes, exactly! She'll go over that in this chapter.**

**The rest of you guys: BLAH. No, JK. My own fault for not reading closer….**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. I reference **_**Tangled**_** in here, and I don't own that either. **

**Keep reading, and shush about my typos!**

* * *

"_I think the flower's stuck in you; I think," Wendy said with a mischievous grin, "that you've got another power to add to your list."_

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace stared at her hands for a long time, until Wendy finally poked her on the shoulder. "Uh, Candace? You ok there?"

The girl looked up at Wendy and frowned. "Not sure. We shouldn't assume anything until after it's had enough time to get out of my bloodstream, though."

Wendy shrugged and leaned back on the counter. "Whatever. But I'm telling you, I'm right."

* * *

THE NEXT DAY, AROUND LUNCH

* * *

Candace glanced around and ran over to Dipper, stumbling on her still not fully grown toe. She had a feeling that it was going to stay that way.

"Dipper, the flower should be out of my system by now, right?"

Dipper glanced up and Candace and frowned slowly, his eyes wandering back to the flat screen TV he was going to attempt to install in the tree house. He was making sure that the electrical cords would run far enough down in the tree.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

Candace shrugged, seeing that his attention was back on the confusing wires in front of him. "Just wondering if I was going to get any better than this," she said, gesturing at her foot.

Dipper looked back up with a wince. "I'm sorry it couldn't help more, Candace."

Candace gave him a grin. "No, it's fine Dipper. More of my toe is there than last night."

The boy gave a hesitant smile and Candace ruffled his head, walking quickly back to the house.

She slipped past Stan in the gift shop and walked into the bathroom, pulling the piece of "sea glass" she had swiped from the Shack out from behind her back.

"Here goes nothing," Candace muttered, already flinching at the cut she knew would burn.

The glass sliced through the air and had almost hit her forearm when a teal hand grabbed Candace's wrist and stopped it in mid-flight.

Perry looked up at Candace, stunned. _"Candace, what are you doing?" _the platypus asked in disbelief, his eyes filled with concern.

Candace looked between Perry and the glass, suddenly realizing how this must have looked to the monotreme. "No, Perry you don't get it," she protested.

Perry looked at her in disbelief. _"You're kidding, right? Didn't you get hurt enough the other day? Look, being hurt is no reason to hurt yourself more."_

Candace struggled against his grip on her wrist, frowning. "Seriously, Perry, let go. You don't know what I'm really-"

"_Oh don't I?" _Perry chattered, his eyes angry.

The platypus quickly, albeit carefully, pushed her to the floor, knocking the glass away. Candace yelped softly as her back hit the floor and she looked up at Perry in shock. The animal seemed disappointed in her, but Candace could still see the worry waging war in his eyes.

"_Promise me you won't do that again?" _Perry whispered.

Candace nodded slowly, glancing away. Her eyes landed on the glass, only a few feet away, and as Perry let her up, Candace shoved the platypus away, lunging for the glass and gripping it tightly enough to feel it slice down in her hand.

Candace yelped and bit her lip as her palm started bleeding and she quickly tossed the glass in the trash.

Perry stood up, his eyes wide, clutching his stomach. Candace hadn't realized she had hit him that hard, but she sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Perry. But you didn't have to worry."

She glanced back down at her palm and smirked. "See?"

She held up her hand to the platypus, who couldn't find any words as he watched the cut heal itself.

Candace dropped her hands and stood back up, dusting herself off. Perry was clenching and unclenching his fists, looking as if he didn't know what to do.

"_I'm sorry, Candace. I thought….I thought that you-"_

Candace knelt and put a hand on his shoulder, both to steady herself and to comfort him. "You didn't know. It's ok. Wendy and I figured it out yesterday, but we thought…I thought that it might have just been after effects from the flower. I had to be sure," she said with a shrug, standing back up.

Perry nodded slowly and walked out of the bathroom after Candace, dropping to all fours. _"So…is it just that the flower got stuck in your blood stream or something?"_

Candace frowned and paused mid-step. "Probably. Reminds you of _Tangled,_ huh?" she laughed, referring to one of her favorite movies.

Perry shrugged. _"Sure. Why not?"_

They parted ways and Candace walked back into the Shack's gift shop, leaning on the counter and winking at Wendy. The girl grinned. "Nuh-uh."

Candace smirked. "You were right."

Wendy chuckled. "Do I get to say I told you so?"

Candace rolled her eyes. "Um, no."

She giggled along with Wendy and looked over at Stan, who was helping a shopper. His posture and face suggested that he would rather be in bed sleeping, due to the last few nights when he had stayed up to keep an eye on the kids.

Candace sighed and glanced down. Wendy set her magazine on the counter and looked at her. "What's wrong, Candace?"

The girl made a small face and shook her head. "It's just…I feel really bad. Stan's done so much for me the last few days, and he looks so beat. I wish…"

She frowned, her eyebrows crinkling together, and suddenly grinned. "I've got an idea. Thanks Wendy!"

She darted out of the Shack as fast as her half grown toe would let her, leaving a confused Wendy behind.

"Um….you're welcome?"

* * *

"Huh. You're right Ferb," Phineas mused, staring down at the ground below the two brothers. "It isn't far enough down to bungee jump."

Ferb rolled his eyes and went back to hammering away at the couch he was installing. They had decided to nail everything down, just in case super strong winds or something came along.

"Phineas? Ferb?"

Phineas glanced over at his brother. "That sounds like Candace."

Sure enough, Candace trekked into their view a moment later and looked up in the trees at them. "Guys! Can you come down here for a minute?"

Phineas and Ferb looked at each other and put down their tools. "You know," Phineas commented as the two started descending the tree via twisty slide, "the last time she called us down from a tree, she was warning us about evil mermaids."

The two hopped off the slide and trotted over to their sister. "What's up Candace?" Phineas asked curiously.

Candace knelt in front of the two of them, using Ferb's arm to steady herself. "I need your help with something…."

* * *

Stanford Pines sighed and collapsed quietly into his easy chair, wishing he could fall asleep for a million years.

The man had been up all night for the last two nights, and that made him both tired and irritable…well, more than usual, anyway.

He flopped his head back onto the top of the chair and stretched as best as he could, loosening his bow tie from around his neck.

Stan closed his eyes and for a minute he thought he might be able to get some sleep, especially since Dipper actually HAD found that flower and Candace wasn't in any danger of hurting herself from her injuries. She wasn't even using the wheelchair anymore.

Sounds started coming from outside, and Scan growled and sat up, his eyes narrowed at whoever had disturbed his sleep.

But as he listened, he started frowning even more. It sounded like multiple people were in his yard.

Now, he could understand that if Dipper and Mabel had had a bunch of friends over, but it was nearly five o'clock and they didn't have many friends their age anyway…

Stan reluctantly stood up and walked over to the front door, flinging it open and stepping into the late afternoon light.

He glanced around and his eyes widened.

The yard was _packed _with people of all ages. Dipper and Phineas stood at the front gate collecting money, while Ferb and Wendy directed people to seats.

Mabel and Candace were nowhere to be seen.

Stan stumbled down the front steps and walked over to Dipper, looking at the numerous people in surprise. "What's going on, kid?" he asked, nodding to a person as they dropped a five into the jar Dipper held.

Dipper looked up at his grunkle and grinned. "Candace came up with a great idea to attract customers, and Phineas and Ferb helped. Mabel and I put up fliers around town to attract attention, and voila!"

Stan raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What exactly was this idea?"

Dipper chuckled, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Ferb's about to announce it, around the corner of the Shack."

"Wait, wait, wait," Stan said, holding up his hands. "Ferb's announcing it?"

Phineas piped up from the other side of the gate. "Yeah, he has the best announcer's voice of all of us. Weirdly enough."

Stan chuckled and left the boys to do their work, following the throngs of people around the corner of the house.

He stopped and stared at what he saw standing in the grass.

The tank was probably twenty or thirty feet tall and the same amount wide. It was filled to the brim with water. To Stan's relief, Candace wasn't in it (though he didn't think she would be).

Ferb climbed up a set of stairs attached to the side that led to several different levels of platforms, one close to the ground, one midway up, and one that stopped just below the rim of the tank. He stopped on the middle one and held a microphone to his lips, grinning down at Stan.

Stan blinked. The normally placid boy seemed almost excited as he announced whatever it was he was announcing, though Stan had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it was.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ferb said, his deep British accent making everyone stop talking, "welcome to the Mystery Shack's first ever water show!"

* * *

**So? Who saw that coming? Come on, tell me!**

**Ok. That's pretty much it…..I got my hair cut! (I used to be able to sit on it and now it's at my shoulders, so this is a big deal for me)**

**Review please!**


	19. Water Show

**CHAPTER 19- Last chapter before the Epilogue! OMG!**

**Keep an eye out for the sequel to this. Will be up in the next month or so. **

**NO time to review my reviews. Sorry guys! But thanks for reviewing!**

**I don't own Phin...do I really have to do this AGAIN? We all know I don't. **

**Sorry for any mistakes. **

* * *

"_Ladies and gentlemen," Ferb said, his deep British accent making everyone stop talking, "welcome to the Mystery Shack's first ever water show!"_

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Stan could only stare as Ferb threw his left arm up and the water above him swirled into the sparkling words "The Mystery Shack."

Stan had seen those exact words written in water before. He knew Candace was behind this! The only question was, where the heck was she?

Stan shook his head as Ferb continued speaking. "This mysterious water, when contained in this special tank," the boy said, patting the tank behind him, "is able to form any idea you can come up with, so long as it is a real item and not too personal. However, if what you want to see is not specific, neither so will the water. For instance, if you say 'dog,' the water will merely shape into the shape of a dog. However, if you say Golden Retriever…"

Ferb waved at the water and almost immediately, a perfect outline of a Golden Retriever appeared, detailed down to the hairs on its body.

The audience gasped and even Stan was stunned. He had no idea Candace could be so specific.

"Please raise your hand and either my brother Phineas or our cousin-" the boys had decided to stick with the term cousin to be less confusing "-Dipper will approach you with a microphone to see what you want demonstrated."

Ferb set his mike down and lounged on a chair that was on his platform while the audience murmured amongst itself.

Stan frowned, worried. Nobody seemed to want to try first. This was a great idea, but if no one-

"Eh, I'll go."

The man glanced up, surprised to see Wendy's boyfriend Robbie stand up, his arms crossed and a small smirk on his face.

Stan glanced over at Wendy, who was standing at the entrance of the yard in case anyone showed up late. He walked over briskly and opened his mouth, but Wendy held up a hand.

"I asked Robbie if he would do one, just in case no one was brave enough to volunteer."

Stan hesitated. "Did you-?"

"Tell him how the water was doing that? Heck no, Stan. I can't believe you would think that," the teen said with a shake of her head.

Phineas had finally made his way over to Robbie and he held the mike up to the teenage boy's mouth. "Gimme a skull and cross bones," Robbie said, an eyebrow cocked.

Phineas rolled his eyes and nudged the teen. "Please," Robbie growled.

Wendy chuckled. "I think they're trying to teach him manners."

Almost immediately, a skull and crossbones appeared in the air above the water. It leered down at the audience and vanished in a brief shower which flew all over the audience courtesy of a gentle breeze.

The audience went wild, and Stan had a hard time keeping up with the demands for the "water."

A piece of pizza, Cocker Spaniel, rose, Bigfoot, a robot fighting an alien with a hotdog with mustard, Shandra Jimenez (that one took a little longer) and Justin Bieber were all tossed into the air before Ferb stood back up and held up a hand.

"Unfortunately, the water can only do so much before it needs a rest. You will have one more chance to get your request in before we close down, but for now, we will have a fifteen minute intermission. Feel free to take a look around the Mystery Shack while you wait."

Stan blinked in surprise as people stood up and practically mobbed the Shack. He grinned, nodded to Phineas and Ferb, and darted in after everyone with Wendy on his heels.

* * *

Candace leaned back with a grin as the last person left the yard at six thirty that night. "Good work Mabel," she said, brushing sweat off her own forehead.

Mabel sat back with a tired smile, her laptop in her hands. "I'm really glad some of those things were common everyday items. It would have been really hard to search pictures of everything for you."

Candace chuckled and rubbed her forehead, more tired than she cared to admit. However, that flower was a lifesaver, because she could practically feel it working to restore her energy.

"Come on," Candace said, standing up and walking towards the exit of the hidden tree house, shutting the blinds on the window that allowed her to see to the water tank and turning the intercom from Phineas and Dipper's microphones off. "Let's go back to the house."

Mabel nodded and tucked her laptop into its case, slinging the carrying strap over her shoulder and disappearing down the hatch before Candace.

"Careful, Candace! It's slippery over here," Mabel murmured the last part under her breath, and Candace barely heard it.

"Why the heck is it slippery?" Candace asked, not heading down until Mabel was at the bottom of the ladder.

Mabel gave a small shrug. "Beats me," she said. "Maybe it's because-"

Mabel gave a small shriek and Candace zoomed over to the hatch in time to see Mabel hit the ground with a thud, her laptop bag lying on top of her.

Candace was down the ladder in three seconds flat and kneeling next to Mabel. "Are you ok?" she asked anxiously, moving the laptop and helping Mabel sit up. "You didn't hit your head, did you?"

"Mabel?" they heard Dipper call. "Was that you who screamed?"

"Yeah!" Mabel called back.

Candace looked up to see Dipper round the corner with Phineas and Ferb, their brows creased in worry. "What happened?" Phineas asked.

Candace winced. "She slipped and fell off the ladder. Mabel, are you ok?"

Mabel nodded slowly and started to get up. "I think so," she said, putting one foot under her. "I didn't hit my head, and- ow ow ow! Not fine," she groaned, sinking to the ground and clutching her left ankle.

Candace quickly rolled down her sock and winced. "Well, it's definitely bruised, possibly sprained," she murmured, her eyes studying it.

Dipper was now kneeling next to his sister, holding her head gently. "Is that the only thing that hurts, Mabel?" he asked.

Mabel nodded. "I'm positive. But if anything else did hurt, I wouldn't really know it," she said through gritted teeth as the pain flared through her ankle.

"Great," Dipper said with a roll of his eyes. "We've all recovered from the mermaid attacks, pretty much, anyway, just in time for Mabel to sprain her ankle."

Mabel threw her hands in the air, almost smacking her brother. "Well excuse me for slipping!"

Candace was still studying the ankle, and she slowly looked between it and her hands. If she had healed Wendy's cut yesterday….

"Mabel, hold still," Candace said, carefully sliding the girl's shoe off, followed by her sock. Mabel winced but didn't say anything as she saw the purple bruising forming on her ankle.

"Candace, what-?"

Candace cut Phineas off with a simple look and leaned over the ankle. "Ok. Hopefully this won't hurt," she murmured.

Mabel looked at her in confusion. "What?"

Candace simply placed her hand on Mabel's ankle, wrapping it gently around the bone as much as she could.

Mabel yelped as the pressure hit the nerves and squirmed slightly. "Candace, what the heck?" she cried, grabbing onto and holding her brother's hand.

"Come on," Candace muttered to herself. "This worked on Wendy."

Then again, it had just been a small cut on Wendy's hand. This was a sprained ankle. Maybe it wouldn't work.

Mabel gasped and sat straight up, her grip on her brother relaxing. "What did you do?" she asked in amazement.

Phineas and Ferb looked at Dipper and all three boys shrugged.

Candace kept her hand firmly on Mabel's ankle for a few more minutes and when she finally took it off, she found everyone staring at her in confusion.

Mabel slowly stood back up and put her full weight on her left ankle, hopping up and down on it for a moment.

"Candace," Phineas breathed in amazement. "What did you do?"

Candace grinned and looked over at Dipper. "Turns out that that flower got stuck in my veins. Even though it's not healing any of my older injuries anymore, every time I get a new cut or something it heals me immediately. And for some bizarre reason, I can heal other people."

The kids all looked at each other and shook their heads. "I didn't see that one coming," Phineas said with a roll of his eyes.

The five of them walked back to the house, Mabel staring down at her ankle in amazement the whole time. As soon as they had stepped inside, Grunkle Stan stepped up to them and shut the door firmly behind them, flipping the sign so that it read "Closed."

"What the heck were you thinking?" he cried after a moment of silence.

The four kids stepped aside and looked up at Candace, who just raised an eyebrow at Stan. "I was thinking that you've done so much for us these last few days and that I really needed to repay you somehow."

Stan held up his index finger, prepared to say something, but he found himself speechless. "You…huh?"

Candace shrugged and walked over to the counter, leaning on it and looking at Stan with a grin. "Come on. You have to admit, that water show was a really great idea."

Stan chewed his lip and nodded. "Well, yeah," he muttered gruffly, "we made more money tonight than we have in the last two weeks. But it was completely reckless! What if someone had seen you?"

Candace grinned. "That's what Phineas and Ferb are for. They modified one of the tree houses that they put up so that when you pressed a button, it's visible only to specific people who are put into the monitor; like me, Mabel, Dipper, Phineas, Ferb, and Wendy. And you, once we get you in there."

Stan faltered once again to come up with something to say. Finally, he shook his head and sighed. "You really want to do this?"

Candace chuckled. "Heck yeah. And since the flower's stuck in my veins, when I get tired I don't need much time to recover."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "What's this about the flower stuck in your veins?"

After a quick demonstration of what she meant by the flower, Stan let the kids go and allowed Wendy to leave. The teen instead went upstairs with Candace and the two flopped in hers and Mabel's room.

"So," Wendy said, putting her chin in her hand, "you going to keep this going?"

Candace nodded. "Yeah. At least for a few more days, anyway. Or until Mom and Dad come back to get us."

Wendy frowned. "Yeah, how's the investigation going, anyway?"

Candace shrugged. "No idea. They haven't called."

Wendy looked at Candace in amusement. "So why don't you call them?"

Candace opened her mouth, and then shrugged, scooping her phone (which had had little use since the first few days) off the bedside table. She was startled to see that she had over thirty texts, all from Isabella, Stacy, or Jeremy.

The first dozen or so were mainly texts asking how their vacation was, and whether or not she was having fun. The texts from the last three days, however, had become frantic sounding, starting with one from Isabella.

_**Isabella: Candace, haven't heard from you guys 4 foreva. Evrythin ok?**_

_**Jeremy: Hey, C, is everything goin ok? No 1 no's wats going on up there. Luv ya**_

_**Stacy: Gurl, we all startin to get worried bout u guys down here**_

_**Isabella: did something happen, Candace? Please txt back.**_

All of them were like that, and Candace suddenly felt really bad that she hadn't checked her phone.

"Candace? Something wrong?" Wendy asked in concern.

Candace sighed and thumbed through her contacts list, stopping after a moment on Isabella's name. "I should call my parents, but I really need to tell my friends what's going on. I doubt Mom and Dad have told them anything."

She pressed dial and raised the phone to her ear, listening as the phone rang in her eardrums. It was picked up after a few moments by Isabella.

"Candace!" the girl cried in relief. "Thank goodness. We haven't heard anything from you guys, and then your parents showed up late yesterday and didn't say anything to anyone. What's been going on? And don't you dare lie."

Candace chuckled a little and settled back, looking at Wendy with a raised eyebrow. The teen grinned and left the room obediently.

"Not much, really," Candace said calmly. "Phineas and Ferb have made a forest wide tree house, we found some evil mermaids who ripped my pinky toe off, and then Dipper found a magic flower that grew it back…well, mostly, and now I can heal myself and other people."

There was a deafening silence on the other end of the line, and then Isabella finally spoke. "You're kidding, right?"

Candace snorted. "I wish I was kidding, Is."

"Maybe you should start from the beginning."

Candace rolled her eyes. "Ok, but this could take a while."

Isabella laughed. "We've got all night."

* * *

**Ah, so you hear again of Isabella and the others. **

**And yay, WATER SHOW. Lol. I had fun with this chapter. I went over it in my head like thirty times. I think it turned out pretty well. **

**Review, please!**


	20. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE- Here's the Epilogue!The very last chapter….boo. BUT KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MY NEXT SEQUEL, ALSO A CROSSOVER. I won't say what it's about, but I will say that I'm crossing Phineas and Ferb over with The Little Mermaid. Dur. That one was obvious. **

**(NOTE: At the moment, I am also writing a Phineas and Ferb/Austin and Ally crossover. That is not the sequel to this. Just so everyone's clear).**

**Reviews (for the last time):**

**Gamelover41592: Sadly, we're not going to see the criminal who broke into the antique store. Let's just assume that they caught him by this chapter ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Wii Guy: Yeah, I like to think I'm pretty consistent. Thanks!**

**Living Encyclopedia: No, we don't hear from Pinky in this one. But he will be in the sequel to this, so don't worry! Thanks for all your reviews!**

**TheLPSDragon: I'm sure she would if someone in the audience had requested it (who knows; maybe she did just for you) Thanks for your reviews!**

**14AmyChan: Yes, yes it does. Thanks for the review!**

**Nehamee: Thanks!**

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. For those of you who didn't know that. **

* * *

_Isabella laughed. "We've got all night."_

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

For the next week, Candace put on a water show for the people of Gravity Falls every day from two to six thirty. The ideas got more and more complicated, with people trying to test and see whether or not there was a limit. But like Ferb had said, unless the idea was too personal (like someone's husband or something) the "water" could do it.

That week was the biggest success in the Mystery's Shack's financial history, and at the end of the week, Stan was able to pay some people to come fix the place up the best they could.

He even tried to fork over some of the money to the kids, but to his amazement, every single one refused the cash.

As Candace sat back after the last show on Friday, she breathed a sigh of relief. Dipper, who was manning the computer this time, looked up with a smile. "Happy it's over?" the boy asked.

Candace chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Honestly? No. Mom and Dad called this morning; the police caught the burglar, so we're leaving tonight."

Dipper froze, his fingers hovering over the keys. "What?"

Candace nodded, rubbing her eyes and glancing at the clock. "Yeah. They'll be here around five. Since we ended early today, we have the rest of the afternoon to hang with you guys. It's a good thing that Phineas and Ferb finished the tree houses."

Dipper shut the laptop slowly and looked up, his eyes sad. "But…Mabel and I don't want you guys to leave."

Candace winced and stood up. "Phineas, Ferb, and I don't want to either, Dipper, but we do have a home back in Danville, you know."

Dipper nodded slowly and followed Candace down the ladder of the secret tree house. "Yeah, I know. But…" He paused as he reached the bottom, and then surprised Candace with a hug. "We'll miss you guys a lot."

Candace, stunned, hugged Dipper back gently. "Hey, Dipper, it's not like we're going to the moon. Trust me, that wouldn't take long if we did," she said, earning a weird look from the boy. "We're only a couple of hours away."

Dipper sighed and walked back with Candace towards the Shack. "Well, yeah. I know. As long as you guys stay in touch with us and whatnot, it should be ok. But…after everything that's happened, I was really hoping you guys would stay longer."

Candace winced and looked down. "Dipper, that's one of the reasons we should leave. I can't go near that lake without….geez," she muttered, shivering.

Dipper sighed, and looked up at her curiously. "Have you tried swimming since, well, you know?"

Candace bit her lip and shook her head. "No. I'm too afraid of what might…or might not be there."

Dipper sighed. "Candace, come on. It's been over a week. And who knows, maybe the flower will work more when you're…um, in the water."

Candace looked at him with a raised eyebrow as they stepped out into the yard, passing the water tank and empty yard. "Still can't say mermaid, huh?"

Dipper wrinkled his nose. "It's weird when I refer to you as one, after seeing those other ones. Yeesh. I really hope there are nicer mermaids out there."

Candace shrugged and leaned against the Shack. "Who knows? Maybe one day you and Mabel will meet one."

Dipper laughed. "Yeah, sure. And I'll give it reverse CPR."

Candace chuckled. "You never know."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "I do know that you should get back in the water and see if you'll be ok."

Candace rubbed her necklace gently, fingering the small engraving on the back. Finally, she shook her head. "I can't do it, Dipper."

Dipper shrugged. "Sure you can. Phineas, Ferb, hit it!"

Candace spun to glare at Dipper. "What did you do?" she hissed.

Dipper grinned and stepped back as a metal claw that the boys had used to assemble the tank came into view and grasped Candace around the waist, lifting her into the air. "Dipper, you are so busted!" the girl yelped as the claw chucked her into the tank.

Candace came up with her hand already in motion, and a giant, watery fist scooped up Dipper and flung him into the water next to her.

Dipper surfaced, coughing, and glared at Candace. The girl chuckled and crossed her arms, stiffening slightly as her tail formed under her.

Dipper raised an eyebrow and treaded water. "Well?" he asked, cocking his head, water dripping from the brim of his hat. "You're fine, right?"

Candace scowled at him and ducked underwater, studying her tail carefully. Minus the long scar that Candace figured would probably run down her tail for the rest of her life, she was absolutely fine. Even her flippers looked normal….well, as much as mermaid flippers could.

Candace surfaced slowly and brushed her hair out of her face. "You're right," she said softly. "I'm fine."

Dipper smirked and ducked as Candace flung a spray of water at him.

"BANZAI!" Phineas yelled as he, Ferb, Mabel, and Wendy all leapt into the water alongside them, soaking the two even more.

Candace and Dipper glanced at each other and started cracking up as the other four surfaced. Wendy grinned and moved her long red-brown from her face. "Oh, come on. I needed a break and Stan gave me one. I just happened to have my swimsuit with me."

Mabel smiled mischievously. "Yeah, her _swimsuit,_" she said, nudging Dipper playfully. Dipper blushed and dunked his sister under the water.

Candace snickered and glanced over the edge of the tank. Stan stood at the bottom, looking up at the kids with his hand shading his eyes. Perry lounged at his side, and Waddles was nowhere to be seen.

Candace turned back to the other kids, grinning. "What do you guys say we get Stan and Perry in here?" she said with a laugh.

The kids and Wendy looked at one another, smirking. "Go for it," Mabel said with a giggle.

The next thing Stan knew, he was in the tank with Perry at his side, spluttering and soaked.

Perry fought hard to maintain his cover, merely dogpaddling rather than tackling Candace in annoyance. That didn't stop Stan, who automatically started chasing the kids around the tank in his sopping wet suit.

Perry glanced at Candace, who was leaning against the side of the tank, and chattered. _"You are so getting it when we get back home."_

Candace just laughed and slipped under the water, splashing Perry with her tail.

* * *

**THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVORITED, AND FOLLOWED THIS STORY (OR ME). YOU ALL FREAKING ROCK! **

**I can't promise that I'll have the sequel to this up immediately, but I will be putting up some one shots and other stories I have ready in the meantime. Keep an eye out for them (namely the Phineas and Ferb and Austin and Ally one I already have up; take a look!)**

**Review! Just one more time to make me feel like a good author?**


End file.
